Kiribati Map

Kiribati Map



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 land: 811 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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,143 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 2.74% permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA

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, Law of the Sea, 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