Where is kiribati country

This page was last updated on November 23, Home Kiribati. Geographical Units Map Where is Kiribati? Outline Map Key Facts Flag. Caminito del Rey. Angels Landing. Salt Spring Island. Old Faithful Geyser. The capital of Kiribati is Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Bairiki, an islet of Tarawa, serves as an administrative center.

Kiribati has a total land area of sq km sq mi. The islands extend about 3, km about 2, mi from east to west. From north to south they extend about 2, km about 1, mi , straddling the equator.

Kiritimati also called Christmas Island , one of the Line Islands, occupies sq km sq mi and has the largest land area of any atoll in the world. The majority of the atolls is barely more than six metres above sea level and surrounded by barrier reefs creating picturesque lagoons for fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming and other water sports. Kiribati has few natural resources and is one of the least developed Pacific Island countries.

Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted by the time of its independence from the United Kingdom in Earnings from fishing licences and seafarer remittances are important sources of income.

However, remittances and the number of seafarers employed declined in the global crisis, but have since improved. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. The public sector dominates economic activity, with ongoing capital projects in infrastructure including road rehabilitation, water and sanitation projects, and renovations to the international airport, spurring some growth.

Kiribati was first settled by early Austronesian-speaking peoples long before the first century A. Fijians and Tongans arrived in about the 14th century and subsequently merged with the older groups to form the traditional I-Kiribati Micronesian society and culture. The islands were first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the first British settlers arrived in A British protectorate since , the Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown colony in — Kiritimati Christmas Atoll became a part of the colony in ; the Phoenix Islands were added in Tarawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in U.

Marine Corps history when marines landed in November to dislodge the Japanese defenders. The Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands now Tuvalu were separated in and granted internal self-government by Britain.

Kiribati became independent on 12 July