Kiribati (Republic of Kiribati) is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. With a population of just 119,000 and than half living of Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island, Banaba. It's total land area is 811 km square, dispersed over 3,441, 810 km square of ocean.
This island spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, making Kiibati the only country in the world located simultaneously on all four hemispheres: the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern hemispheres. The international Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east almost reaching 150 degrees west. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places in the most advanced time zone on earth, UTC + 14.
Kiribati became a sovereign state after gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. The capital of this country is South Tarawa, which is the most populous. Prior to independence, Kiribati, relied mostly on phosphate as its main export. However, this resource are mostly depleted. Fisheries and copra have replaced phosphate as the country's leading export. These resources prove inadequate to sustain the Kiribatians as they are heavily dependent on international aid to shore up the economy.
English and Gilbertese are the two official languages on this island. And 97.7% of its inhabitants are Gilbertese. Christianity is also the dominant religion with, 2.1% of the Baha'i faith and Others making up the remaining 1.7%. Kiribati is a Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency with a , vice president and the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Its current GDP stands at 0.28 billion USD.
This island spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, making Kiibati the only country in the world located simultaneously on all four hemispheres: the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern hemispheres. The international Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east almost reaching 150 degrees west. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places in the most advanced time zone on earth, UTC + 14.
Kiribati became a sovereign state after gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. The capital of this country is South Tarawa, which is the most populous. Prior to independence, Kiribati, relied mostly on phosphate as its main export. However, this resource are mostly depleted. Fisheries and copra have replaced phosphate as the country's leading export. These resources prove inadequate to sustain the Kiribatians as they are heavily dependent on international aid to shore up the economy.
English and Gilbertese are the two official languages on this island. And 97.7% of its inhabitants are Gilbertese. Christianity is also the dominant religion with, 2.1% of the Baha'i faith and Others making up the remaining 1.7%. Kiribati is a Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency with a , vice president and the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Its current GDP stands at 0.28 billion USD.