Kiribati Geography 1997

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 unilaterally moved the International Date Line from the middle ofthe country to include its easternmost islands and make it the same day throughoutthe country

Geographic coordinates 1 25 N, 173 00 E

Map references Oceania

Area
total: 717 sq km
land: 717 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, PhoenixIslands

Area - comparative four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries 0 km

Coastline 1,143 km

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: NA%
permanent crops : 51%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 46% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land NA sq km

Natural hazards typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasionaltornadoes

Environment - current issues heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migrationmixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping;ground water at risk

Environment - international agreements
party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, OzoneLayer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribatiis one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - theothers are Makatea in French Polynesia and Nauru

NOTE: The information regarding Kiribati on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kiribati Geography 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kiribati Geography 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.