Kiribati

Abstract

Kiribati is a group of atolls and islands on the equator. Formerly called the Gilbert Islands Kiribati accepted independence from Britain in 1979 when it also became a republic. In the same year Kiribati also acquired the nearby Phoenix and Line Islands from the United States. Kiribati is geographically dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres of which only 811 km² are land (CIA 2007; Tenten 2006).

The population which is mainly Micronesian was estimated by the CIA in 2008 to be 110,356 with a median age of 20.6 years and life expectancy of almost 63 years. The economy is based on the export of copra, fish, tourism and foreign aid and is fragile due to isolation and lack of skilled labour. Kiribati’s capital is Tarawa and its main language is Gilbertese (CIA 2007; Tenten 2006).

The Gilbert Islands were first settled by Austronesian people from about 2000 BCE. Between 1830 and 1890 the Islands were visited by various European whalers, traders, beachcombers, seekers of plantation labour and European Christian missionaries. The British declared the Gilberts to be a protectorate in 1892 and placed them under the same local administration as the Ellice Islands, modern Tuvalu. By 1916 the Gilbert, Ellice and Phoenix Islands were single crown colony. The area was a theatre of battle in World War II having been invaded by both Japanese and American forces (Tenten 2006).