Map Of Kiribati Created By The CIA

The map of Kiribati above comes from the CIA World Factbook

Kiribati Location Map

Kiribati Facts

Full Official Name: Republic of Kiribati
Demonym: I-Kiribati

Flag:

Area

Total Area: 811 km²
Total Land Area: 811 km²
Total Water Area: 0 km²

Demographics

Population: 116,545

Population Growth Rate: 1% (2024 est.)

Largest City: South Tarawa (Population: 63,439)

Ethnic Groups: I-Kiribati 95.78%, I-Kiribati/mixed 3.8%, Tuvaluan 0.2%, other 1.7% (2020 est.)

Languages: Gilbertese, English (official)

Religions: Roman Catholic 58.9%, Kiribati Uniting Church 21.2%, Kiribati Protestant Church 8.4%, Church of Jesus Christ 5.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.1%, Baha’i 2.1%, other 1.7% (2020 est.)

Economy

Currency: Australian dollar

Real GDP at Purchasing Power Parity ($ PPP): $423.828 million (2023 est.)

GDP per capita (PPP): $3,200 (2023 est.)

Exports Value Per Year: $19.677 million (2022 est.)

Biggest Export Partners: Thailand 55%, Philippines 15%, Japan 10%, Indonesia 8%, South Korea 4% (2022)

Imports Value Per Year: $254.438 million (2022 est.)

Biggest Import Partners: Taiwan 25%, China 22%, Fiji 13%, Australia 9%, South Korea 7% (2022)

Government

Type: presidential republic

Capital City: Tarawa (Population: 70,480)

Other Facts

Time Zone: UTC+12, +13, +14

Country Code: KI

Internet TLD: .ki

Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

Odd Shape?

Kiribati was included in my list of The 17 Oddest Shaped Countries In The World & How They Came To Be.

Kiribati’s shape is extraordinarily odd because it’s one of the world’s most geographically fragmented countries, stretching across an enormous expanse of ocean.

It consists of 33 islands and atolls scattered across nearly 3.5 million square kilometers of the central Pacific Ocean, straddling both the Equator and the International Date Line.

Here’s clearly why Kiribati’s shape is odd and how it came to be that way:

What’s Odd About Kiribati’s Shape?

Kiribati is uniquely fragmented, spread across an enormous distance:
- It spans three different hemispheres—Northern, Southern, and both Eastern and Western hemispheres.
- Its territory stretches over roughly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) east to west, yet has a tiny total land area (about 811 square kilometers).
- It’s among the few countries straddling the International Date Line, requiring Kiribati to adjust the line around its territory to maintain a single time zone.

How Kiribati Got Its Odd Shape:

Geological Formation:

The islands of Kiribati formed as coral atolls, built atop volcanic peaks that sank beneath the ocean surface millions of years ago.
Coral reefs continued growing upward, creating ring-shaped islands (atolls) scattered across vast ocean expanses, naturally separated by hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.

Colonial History and Political Boundaries:

Kiribati’s current territorial shape resulted primarily from colonial-era boundary decisions (19th and 20th centuries).
The islands were colonized and governed by Britain as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. Upon independence in 1979, Kiribati retained widespread islands, including the distant Phoenix and Line Islands groups.
Political decisions (rather than geography alone) resulted in Kiribati holding distant islands, thus stretching its boundaries dramatically.

Adjusting the International Date Line:

In 1995, Kiribati adjusted the International Date Line eastward to unify its islands into a single time zone, further emphasizing its unusual geographic shape, with islands now officially situated in both the eastern and western hemispheres.

Consequences of Kiribati’s Odd Shape:

Administrative & logistical challenges: Communication, transportation, and governance become extremely difficult across widely separated islands.
Economic difficulties: Limited landmass spread over a vast area complicates infrastructure development, economy, and service delivery.
Vulnerability to climate change: Being low-lying atolls, Kiribati’s dispersed islands are highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, threatening its very existence.