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 sea-level rise
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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