Location Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is 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

Map references Oceania

Area
total: 811 sq km
note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
water: 0 sq km
land: 811 sq km

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: 51%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 49% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land NA sq km

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 21 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

NOTE: The information regarding Kiribati on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kiribati Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kiribati Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.