Kiribati is an island nation, which is located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean, about 4,000 km (about 2,500 mi) to the southwest of Hawaii. The island nation comprises of 33 islands, along with raised coral island. The islands can be divided into three separate groups - Kiribati (including Banaba Island, formerly Ocean Island) Islands, Line Islands and Phoenix Islands. All the islands in Kiribati are low-lying coral ones, with coastal lagoons, with the only exception being Banaba. There are no hills or streams throughout the island nation and the vegetation basically comprises of coconut palms and pandanus trees. Given below is more information on Kiribati.
Fun & Interesting Facts about Kiribati
- The official name of Kiribatiis ‘Republic of Kiribati’.
- The official languages of KiribatiareEnglish and Gilbertese.
- Majority of the people in Kiribatiare Roman Catholics and Protestants.
- The main ethnic groups in Kiribatiinclude Micronesian and Tuvaluan minority.
- The currency of Kiribati is Australian dollar.
- The capital of Kiribatiis South Tarawa.
- Kiribatifollows the system of ‘Presidential Republic’ (single-party state).
- Kiribatigained independence from the United Kingdom, on 12th July 1979.
- The main island groups in Kiribati include the Gilberts Group, the Phoenix Group and the Line Islands Group.
- The island of Banaba (81 m), one of three large phosphate rock islands in the Pacific, forms the highest point on Kiribati.
- The island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island) boasts of being the largest island in the world, in terms of land area.
- Kiribati Islands were earlier known as the Gilbert Islands, after Thomas Gilbert, a British navigator.
- Kiribati became part of the British Protectorate of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Tuvalu), in the year 1892.
- Gilbert and Ellice Islands were made a British colony in 1916.
- Ellice Islands gained independence in 1978 and were renamed as Tuvalu. While, Gilbert Islands got independence a year later, in 1979, and came to be known as Kiribati.
- Kiribati is a member of Commonwealth Nations, through which it retains its links with the United Kingdom.
- Kiribati is a member of the University of the South Pacific in Suva (Fiji).
- Two of the uninhabited coral reefs in Kiribati have already been submerged by rising sea levels.
- Kiribati has been inhabited by Micronesians since sometime between 3000 BC and 1300 AD.
