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Economy of Kiribati

A least developed country, Kiribati's per capita GDP is about $1,500. Although 63.6% of Kiribati’s population above the age of 15 are economically active, only 23% participate in the formal wage economy and over 60% of all formal jobs are in South Tarawa. The monetary economy of Kiribati is dominated by the services sector, representing a GDP share of 63.4%, and the public sector which provides 80% of monetary remuneration. The end of phosphate revenue from Banaba in 1979 had a devastating impact on the economy. Receipts from phosphates had accounted for roughly 80% of export earnings and 50% of government revenue. Per capita GDP declined by more than half between 1979 and 1981. The Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (RERF), a trust fund financed by phosphate earnings over the years, is still an important part of the government's assets and contained more than U.S. $500 million in 2009. However, with the declining returns on offshore investments in the RERF, lower drawdowns from the fund to meet fiscal deficits is vital for the long-term welfare of the country. In one form or another, Kiribati gets a large portion of its income from abroad. Examples include fishing licenses, development assistance, tourism, and worker remittances. External sources of financing are crucial to Kiribati, given the limited domestic production ability and the need to import nearly all essential foodstuffs and manufactured items. Historically, the I-Kiribati were notable seafarers, and today about 1,400 I-Kiribati are trained, certified, and active as seafarers. Remittances from seafarers are a major source of income for families in the country, and there is a steady annual uptake of young I-Kiribati men to the Kiribati Maritime Training Institute. Remittances from Kiribati workers living abroad provide more than $11 million annually. Fishing fleets from South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and the United States pay licensing fees to operate in Kiribati's territorial waters. These licenses produce revenue worth U.S. $20 million to $35 million annually. Kiribati's exclusive economic zone comprises more than 3.55 million square kilometers (1.37 million square miles) and is very difficult to police given Kiribati's small land mass and limited means. Kiribati probably loses millions of dollars per year from illegal, unlicensed, and unreported fishing in its exclusive economic zone. The largest donors of development assistance to Kiribati are Japan, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. U.S. assistance is provided through multilateral institutions. Tourism is a relatively small, but important domestic sector. Attractions include World War II battle sites, game fishing, and ecotourism. The vast majority of American tourists only visit Christmas Island in the Line Islands on fishing and diving vacations. Most islanders engage in subsistence activities such as fishing and growing of food crops like bananas, breadfruit, and papaya. The leading export is the coconut product, copra, which accounts for about two-thirds of export revenue. Other exports include pet fish, shark fins, and seaweed. Kiribati's principal trading partners are Australia and Japan. Transportation and communications are a challenge for Kiribati. Air Pacific, Our Airline, and Air Kiribati provide international air links to the capital of Tarawa. Air Kiribati provides service to most of the populated atolls in the Gilberts using small planes flying from Tarawa. Small ships serve outlying islands, including in the Line Islands, with irregular schedules. A joint venture between Air Pacific and the government of Kiribati operates a flight linking Christmas Island to Fiji and Honolulu. Telecommunications are expensive, and service is mediocre. Economy (all figures in U.S. $) GDP (2010 est.): $152 million. GDP per capita (2010 est.): $1,522. GDP composition by sector (2008): Services 66.1%, agriculture 26.4%, industry 7.5%. Industry: Types --tourism, copra, fish. Trade (2007): Exports --$9.8 million: fish, seaweed, shark fins. Export markets --Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, United States, Australia, Belgium, Denmark. Imports --$70.2 million: food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment. Import sources --Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, United States, China, Taiwan. Currency: Australian dollar (A$).

Geography of Kiribati

Capital: Tarawa. Terrain: Archipelago of low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs. Climate: Hot and humid, moderated by trade winds. Location: Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator and the International Date Line, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia Map references: Oceania Area: total area: 717 sq km land area: 717 sq km comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 1,143 km Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 51% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 3% other: 46% Irrigated land: NA sq km Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change 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

Government of Kiribati

The constitution promulgated at independence establishes Kiribati as a sovereign democratic republic and guarantees the fundamental rights of its citizens. The unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba) has 45 members: 43 elected representatives, one appointed member by the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fiji, and the Attorney General on an ex officio basis. All of the members of the Maneaba serve 4-year terms; the present Maneaba term will end in late 2011. The speaker for the legislature is elected by the Maneaba from outside of its membership and is not a voting member of Parliament. After each general election, the new Maneaba nominates at least three but not more than four of its members to stand as candidates for president. The voting public then elects the president from among these candidates. The president appoints a cabinet of up to 10 members from among the members of the Maneaba. Although popularly elected, the president can be deposed by a majority vote in Parliament. If a no confidence motion passes, a new election for President must be held. An individual can serve as president for only three terms, no matter how short each term is. As a result of this provision, former Presidents Tabai and Tito are constitutionally forbidden from serving as president again. The judicial system consists of the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and Magistrates' Courts. The president makes all judicial appointments. POLITICAL CONDITIONS Political parties exist but are more similar to informal coalitions in behavior. Parties do not have official platforms or party structures. Most candidates formally present themselves as independents. Campaigning is by word of mouth and informal gatherings in traditional meetinghouses. President Anote Tong won re-election by a comfortable margin in late 2007 and enjoys a comfortable majority in Parliament. The biggest political issue today is employment opportunities for a crowded and growing population. Principal Government Officials Head of State/Government--President Anote Tong Vice President--Teima Onorio Ambassador to the United States--vacant

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History of Kiribati

The I-Kiribati people settled what would become known as the Gilbert Islands between 1000 and 1300 AD. Subsequent invasions by Fijians and Tongans introduced Melanesian and Polynesian elements to the Micronesian culture, but extensive intermarriage has produced a population reasonably homogeneous in appearance and traditions. European contact began in the 16th century. Whalers, slave traders, and merchant vessels arrived in great numbers in the 1800s, fomenting local tribal conflicts and introducing often-fatal European diseases. In an effort to restore a measure of order, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (the Ellice Islands are now the independent country of Tuvalu) consented to becoming British protectorates in 1892. Banaba (Ocean Island) was annexed in 1900 after the discovery of phosphate-rich guano deposits, and the entire group was made a British colony in 1916. The Line and Phoenix Islands were incorporated piecemeal over the next 20 years. Japan seized some of the islands during World War II. In November 1943, U.S. forces assaulted heavily fortified Japanese positions on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilberts, resulting in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Pacific campaign. The battle was a turning point for the war in the Central Pacific. Britain began expanding self-government in the islands during the 1960s. In 1975 the Ellice Islands separated from the colony and in 1978 declared their independence. The Gilberts obtained internal self-government in 1977, and became an independent nation on July 12, 1979, under the name of Kiribati. Post-independence politics were initially dominated by Ieremia Tabai, Kiribati's first President, who served from 1979 to 1991, stepping down due to Kiribati's three-term limit for presidents. The tenure of Teburoro Tito, Kiribati's second-longest serving President, was from 1994 to 2003. His third term lasted only a matter of months before he lost a no confidence motion in Parliament. (See the next section for an explanation of Kiribati's unique presidential system.) In July 2003, Anote Tong defeated his elder brother, Harry Tong, who was backed by former President Tito and his allies. Tong was re-elected for a second term as president in October 2007.

People of Kiribati

Kiribati (pronounced "keer-ah-bhass") consists of 32 low-lying atolls and one raised island scattered over an expanse of ocean equivalent in size to the continental United States. The islands straddle the Equator and lie roughly halfway between Hawaii and Australia. The three main groupings are the Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands, and Line Islands. In 1995 Kiribati unilaterally moved the International Date Line to include its easternmost islands, making it the same day throughout the country. Kiribati includes Kiritimati (Christmas Island), the largest coral atoll in the world, and Banaba (Ocean Island), one of the three great phosphate islands in the Pacific. Except on Banaba, very little land is more than three meters above sea level. The original inhabitants of Kiribati are Gilbertese, a Micronesian people. Approximately 90% of the population of Kiribati lives on the atolls of the Gilbert Islands. Although the Line Islands are about 2,000 miles east of the Gilbert Islands, most inhabitants of the Line Islands are also Gilbertese. Owing to severe overcrowding in the capital on South Tarawa, in the 1990s a program of directed migration moved nearly 5,000 inhabitants to outlying atolls, mainly in the Line Islands. The Phoenix Islands have never had any significant permanent population. A British effort to settle Gilbertese there in the 1930s lasted until the 1960s when it was determined the inhabitants could not be self-sustaining. Nationality: Noun and adjective --I-Kiribati (for both singular and plural, pronounced "ee-keer-ah-bhass"). Population (2010 est.): 100,835. Age structure (2010 est.)--35.2% under 15; 5.59% over 60. Population growth rate (2010 est.): 1.8%. Ethnic groups: Micronesian 99%. Religion: Roman Catholic 55%, Kiribati Protestant 36%, other 9%. Languages: English (official), Gilbertese/I-Kiribati (de facto). Education (2005): Adult literacy --92%. Health (2005): Life expectancy --61.0 years. Infant mortality rate (2007)--46/1,000. Work force (2005): Labor force participation rate was 63.6%. Subsistence workers made up 37%, cash workers numbered 13,133.