A tropical islet with palm fronds oriented in the direction of the prevailing winds. Palmyra Island.
Photo: LCDR Eric Johnson, NOAA Corps., Public domain · source
Did you know?
The permanent population of Kiribati is just over 138,000 as of the 2026 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. There is also a significant number of I‑Kiribati forming a diaspora, the largest of which still growing via emigration is probably in New Zealand; historically, diasporic communities were created through over-population resettlement in the Solomon Islands on Ghizo and Wagina, and through intermarriage in the United Kingdom and United States. Another country with growing diasporic communities born of recent labour immigration is Australia. The I‑Kiribati are a Micronesian people that speaks the Gilbertese language.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Coral reefs near Enderbury Island, Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)
Photo: Dr. Randi Rotjan, New England Aquarium. www.neaq.org, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
St Paul's Millenium Church, Betio, Kiribati
Photo: Vladimir Lysenko (I.), CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
View over Abaiang in Northern direction. Image shot from the spire of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Koinawa.
Photo: Flexman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Etymology and pronunciation
The name is pronounced KIRR-i-bass, as -ti in the Gilbertese language represents an [s] sound. Similarly, the name of its people, the I-Kiribati, is pronounced ee-KIRR-i-bass.
The name Kiribati was adopted upon the country's independence in 1979. It is the Gilbertese rendition of Gilberts, the plural of the English name of the nation's main archipelago, the Gilbert Islands. It was named îles Gilbert (French for 'Gilbert Islands') in about 1820 by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey, after the British captain Thomas Gilbert.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Schiffe die in Kiribati zwischen den Inseln verkehren können teilweise recht voll werden. Hier ein Schiff, das von Abaiang nach Tarawa unterwegs ist.
Photo: Flexmaen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Maneaba in Marakei atoll, Kiribati
Photo: Rafael Ávila Coya, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
History
The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples speaking the same Oceanic language, from north to south, including the southernmost Nui, since sometime between 3000 BC and 1300 AD. The area was not completely isolated; later, voyagers from Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji introduced some Polynesian and Melanesian cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage and intense navigation between the islands tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenization.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
kiribati, parliament, south tarawa, tarawa
Photo: KiribatiTraveller, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Cyrtosperma chamissonis = Cyrtosperma merkusii plantation on Butaritari, Kiribati
Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Politics
The Constitution of Kiribati, promulgated 12 July 1979, provides for free and open elections in a parliamentary democratic republic.
The executive branch consists of a president (te Beretitenti), a vice-president and a cabinet. The president, who is also chief of the cabinet, is directly elected by the citizens, after the legislature nominates three or four persons from among its members to be candidates in the ensuing presidential election. The president is limited to serving three four-year terms, and remains a member of the assembly. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice-president, and 13 ministers (appointed by the president) who are also members of parliament.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
View over Abaiang in Northern direction. Image shot from the spire of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Koinawa.
Photo: Flexman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Photo: unknown author, Public domain · source
Geography
Kiribati consists of 32 atolls and one solitary island (Banaba), extending into the eastern and western hemispheres, as well as the northern and southern hemispheres. Its extensive exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers three, non-contiguous, traditional geographic subregions: Banaba (Melanesian-Micronesian area), the Gilbert Islands (Micronesia) and the Line and Phoenix Islands (Polynesia). The groups of islands are:
Banaba: an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands: sixteen atolls located approximately 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) north of Fiji
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
University of South Pacific, Kiribati Campus
Photo: Flexmaen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University of South Pacific, Kiribati Campus
Photo: Flexmaen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Economy
Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits on Banaba were exhausted at the time of independence. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. Kiribati has the lowest GDP of any sovereign state in Oceania, and is considered one of the least developed countries in the world.
Kiribati gets a large portion of its income from abroad. Examples include fishing licences, development assistance, workers' remittances, especially the seafarers issued from Marine Training Centre, and a few tourists.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Communications and media
Communications between the islands of Kiribati have been particularly challenging, with the islands spanning across hundreds of miles north and south of the equator. Communication is primarily conducted by radio and print media. TV Kiribati Ltd was owned by the government and operated between 2004 and mid-2012, but could not reach all of the islands. Radio Kiribati, based on Tarawa and operated by the government's Broadcasting and Publications Authority (BPA) on 1440 kHz AM, is the only form of mass media that reaches all the major islands.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Demographics
The November 2020 census showed a population of 119,940. About 90% lived in the Gilbert Islands, with 52.9% of them on South Tarawa, including Betio, the biggest township.
Until recently, people lived mostly in villages with populations between 50 and 3,000 on the outer islands. Most houses are made of materials obtained from coconut and pandanus trees. Frequent droughts and infertile soil hinder reliable large-scale agriculture, so the islanders have largely turned to the sea for livelihood and subsistence. Most are outrigger sailors and fishermen.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture
Songs (te anene) and dances (te mwaie) are held in high regard.
Kiribati folk music is generally based on chanting or other forms of vocalising, accompanied by body percussion. Public performances in modern Kiribati are generally performed by a seated chorus, accompanied by a guitar. However, during formal performances of the standing dance (Te Kaimatoa) or the hip dance (Te Buki), a wooden box is used as a percussion instrument. This box is constructed to give a hollow and reverberating tone when struck simultaneously by a chorus of men sitting around it.
Wikipedia: Kiribati – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0