Kiribati

Kiribati is an island group in Micronesia straddling the equator and, until 1995, the International Date Line. Kiribati's 33 atolls, with a total area of only 811 km², are scattered over an area of 3.5 million km². Kiribati saw some of the worst fighting of the Pacific theatre during the Second World War, including the infamous Battle of Tarawa.

Regions

Except for the isolated Banaba (Ocean Island - 6 km², pop.~300), all the main islands are in one of three groups:

Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are all in the UTC+12 time zone.

• Abaiang - 18 km², pop.~5502 - has at least one hotel and a couple of guest houses
• Abemama - 27 km², pop.~3400
• Aranuka - 12 km², pop.~1200
• Arorae - 9 km², pop.~1300
• Beru - 18 km², pop.~2200
• Butaritari - 13 km², pop.~3300
• Kuria - 16 km², pop.~1100
• Maiana - 17 km², pop.~2000
• Marakei - 14 km², pop.~2800
• Nikunau - 19 km², pop.~2000
• Nonouti - 20 km², pop.~3200
• Onotoa - 16 km², pop.~1700
• Tabiteuea (Tabiteuea North - 26 km², pop.~3600 & Tabiteuea South - 12 km², pop.~1298)
• Tamana - 5 km², pop.~ 900 - the smallest of the Gilbert Islands (too small to construct an airstrip)
• Tarawa (Tarawa North - 15 km², pop.~5700 & Tarawa South - 16 km², pop.~40000+) - Tarawa South is the location of Kiribati's capital

Line Islands

Eight of the eleven Line Islands atolls belong to Kiribati and are in the UTC+14 time zone, the easternmost zone currently in use anywhere in the world, making them the first places on Earth to start each new calendar day. The other three (all uninhabited) are U.S. dependencies.

Northern Line Islands

• Kiritimati (Christmas Island) - pop.~5000
• Tabuaeran (Fanning Island) - pop.~2500
• Teraina (Washington Island) - pop.~1000

The Northern Line Islands also include Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef which are U.S. dependencies.

Central Line Islands

• Malden Island - uninhabited
• Starbuck Island - uninhabited

The Central Line Islands also include Jarvis Island which is a U.S. dependency, and Filippo Reef which is usually submerged.

Southern Line Islands

• Caroline Island - uninhabited
• Flint Island - uninhabited
• Vostok Island - uninhabited

Phoenix Islands

The Phoenix Islands are all in the UTC+13 time zone.

• Abariringa (Kanton or Canton Island)
• Birnie Island
• Enderbury Island
• Manra (Sydney Island)
• McKean Island
• Nikumaroro (Gardner Island) - reputed last landing spot of Amelia Earhart
• Orona (Hull Island)
• Rawaki (formerly Phoenix Island)

The Phoenix Islands are all uninhabited except for Abariringa (pop.~40 and falling) and also includes two submerged coral reefs - Winslow Reef and Carondelet Reef . The group is sometimes geographically amalgamated with Baker Island and Howland Island further north, both of which are uninhabited U.S. dependencies.

Culture and History

Kiribati was inhabited for 2000 years prior to European contact. Under British colonial rule, it was known as the Gilbert Islands. Kiribati was granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. The name "Kiribati" is pronounced "Kiri-bass", which is the closest local equivalent to "Gilberts".

The Phoenix and Line Islands were generally held to be on the east side of the International Date Line and are in different time zones from the Gilbert Islands group, but on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory was on the same calendar day (skipping 31 December 1994 in those island groups), effectively extending the Date Line further eastward to accommodate this. This makes the Line Islands the farthest "ahead" of any territory on the planet; they were the first to celebrate the coming of the year 2000.

In 1995 Kiribati suspended diplomatic relations with France to protest the latter's decision to resume nuclear testing on Muraroa Atoll. In 1999 the government claimed that two atolls had been lost due to sea level rise and subsequently, in 2002, joined with Tuvalu and the Maldives to take legal action against the US for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol.

The presence of gun emplacements and ship wrecks from WWII battles makes shipwreck diving a common tourist activity.

Travel to Kiribati, visa requirements

Flights to Kiribati, airtickets

Our Airline [1] (also known as Air Nauru) and Air Marshall Islands [2] offer service to Tarawa from neighbouring island countries, including Nauru, Marshall Islands and Fiji.

By boat

Norwegian Cruise Lines [3] offers a stop on Fanning Island on their 11 and 10 day Hawaiian cruises. The cruises depart in Hawaii and stop for approximately 8 hours on the island.

Get around

Talk

English is an official language of the islands, and is widely spoken. The native I-Kiribati language may be useful in more remote locations, however.

Shopping, Kiribati souvenirs

Good restaurants and cheap meals

Kiribati nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.

Hotels, youth hostels, lodging

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Kiribati is generally a safe place to travel.

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

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