|
| Location: |
Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
1 25 N, 173 00 E
|
| Area: |
total:
717 sq km
land:
717 sq km
water:
0 sq km
note:
includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
|
| Area - comparative: |
four times the size of Washington, DC
|
| Maritime claims: |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea:
12 NM
|
| Climate: |
tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
|
| Terrain: |
mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
|
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point:
unnamed location on Banaba 81 m
|
| Natural resources: |
phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
|
| Land use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
51%
permanent pastures:
0%
forests and woodland:
3%
other:
46% (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level
|
| Environment - current issues: |
heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
|
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
|
| Geography - note: |
20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru
|
|
|
|
