Republic of Kiribati

Ribaberiki Kiribati Republic of Kiribati


Motto Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa Health, Peace and Prosperity
Anthem Teirake Kaini Kiribati Stand up, Kiribati


Capital	Tarawa

Government	Republic and parliamentary
President
- From 2003	Anote Tong

Legislature	House of Assembly

History
- July 12, 1979	Independence

Commonwealth accession	July 12, 1979

Area	811 km²

Population
- 2010	103,500
Density	127.6/km²

GDP	2010 (PPP)
- Total	US$ 0.6 billion
- Per capita	US$ 6,209

Currency	Kiribati dollar Australian dollar

Gilbert and Ellice Islands
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The Republic of Kiribati is a parliamentary republic in Micronesia.

Background

The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892 and a colony in 1915; they were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific War in 1941. The islands of Makin and Tarawa were the sites of major US amphibious victories over entrenched Japanese garrisons in 1943. The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.^[1]

Economy

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources and is one of the least developed Pacific Islands. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from the EU, UK, US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UN agencies, and Taiwan accounts for 20-25% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund.^[2]