Geography

Kiribati straddles the equator. It is composed of three island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and most of the Line Islands. The country also includes Banaba, an island west of the Gilberts. Most of the population lives on the Gilbert Islands, which are about 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) northeast of Australia. There are 16 islands in the Gilbert group. Most of the country's islands are atolls, or ribbons of coral reef surrounding a lagoon. The atolls are all less than 25 feet (8 meters) above sea level.

The islands of Kiribati spread over some 2 million square miles (5 million square kilometers) of the ocean. However, the country's total land area is only 313 square miles (811 square kilometers). Kiritimati (Christmas Island), in the Line Islands, is the world's largest coral atoll. It accounts for nearly half of the country's land area. The country's soil is mainly infertile. Few types of plants will grow in it. An exception is coconut palms, which cover the islands. Breadfruit trees and pandanus palms grow on some of the islands. There are many sea birds. A wide variety of fish swim among the reefs.

People and culture

Almost all the people of Kiribati are of Micronesian origin. About half of the people are Roman Catholic. Most of the rest are Protestant. The population speaks Gilbertese, a local language. The official language is English. It is widely spoken on Tarawa Atoll. Tarawa has the country's highest concentration of people. It also has the most urban development. In most of Kiribati the people live in huts in traditional villages.

Economy

More than 70 percent of the population of Kiribati farms or fishes. The main crops are coconuts, taro, bananas, breadfruit, and papaws. Pigs and chickens are raised. The country does not produce enough to feed its people, however. It must buy food from other countries.

Kiribati sells copra, or dried coconut meat, and fish to other countries. It charges fees to foreign fishing fleets that use the country's waters. Tourism is another important source of income. In addition, Kiribati is dependent on foreign aid.

In the past Kiribati mined phosphate from the island of Banaba. The country used up the island's supply by 1979, and mining stopped. Money from the sale of phosphate was placed in reserve. Interest from the fund still contributes to the country's income.

History

The earliest settlers in the Gilbert Islands and Banaba arrived about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. The settlers came from Southeast Asia by way of Micronesia. Samoans came to the southern islands in about the 14th century AD and merged with the older groups.

Various European explorers visited the islands from the 16th to 19th centuries. Whalers, coconut-oil traders, and slave traders arrived in the 19th century, mainly from Europe. In 1892 the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate, or dependent state. Britain took Banaba in 1900, after the island's valuable phosphate was discovered. In 1916 the British joined the islands with a Polynesian group to form the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Later the colony included most of the Phoenix and Line islands.

In 1942–43, during World War II, the Japanese occupied the Gilbert Islands. Japan and the United States fought a major battle on Tarawa. The United States and Britain tested nuclear weapons on Kiritimati in the 1960s.

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony split apart in 1976. The Ellice group was granted independence as Tuvalu in 1978. The Gilberts became the independent nation of Kiribati in 1979. Population (2001 estimate), 94,000.