Short facts about the geography of Kiribati

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 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:  717 sq km land:  717 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:

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:  0% permanent crops:  51% permanent pastures:  0% 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; 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:

20 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

Source: World Factbook