Kiribati

Kiribati

an independent republic in the W Pacific: comprises 33 islands including Banaba (Ocean Island), the Gilbert and Phoenix Islands, and eight of the Line Islands; part of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands until 1975; became self-governing in 1977 and gained full independence in 1979 as the Republic of Kiribati; a member of the Commonwealth. Official languages: English, I-Kiribati (Gilbertese) is widely spoken. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: Australian dollar. Capital: Bairiki islet, in Tarawa atoll. Pop.: 88 000 (2003 est.). Area: 684 sq. km (264 sq. miles)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Kiribati

Official name: Republic of Kiribati

Capital city: Tarawa

Internet country code: .ki

 Flag description: The upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean

Geographical description: Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Aus­tralia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line

Total area: 266 sq. mi. (719 sq. km.)

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

Nationality: noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural, pro­nounced ee-keer-ah-bhass); adjective: I-Kiribati

Population: 107,817 (July 2007 CIA est.)

Ethnic groups: Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2%

Languages spoken: English (official), Gilbertese/I-Kiribati

Religions: Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregation­al) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha’i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8%

Legal Holidays:

Boxing Day	Dec 26
Christmas Day	Dec 25
Easter Monday	Apr 25, 2011; Apr 9, 2012; Apr 1, 2013; Apr 21, 2014; Apr 6, 2015; Mar 28, 2016; Apr 17, 2017; Apr 2, 2018; Apr 22, 2019; Apr 13, 2020; Apr 5, 2021; Apr 18, 2022; Apr 10, 2023
Good Friday	Apr 22, 2011; Apr 6, 2012; Mar 29, 2013; Apr 18, 2014; Apr 3, 2015; Mar 25, 2016; Apr 14, 2017; Mar 30, 2018; Apr 19, 2019; Apr 10, 2020; Apr 2, 2021; Apr 15, 2022; Apr 7, 2023
Gospel Day	Jul 9
Health Day	Apr 21
Human Rights Day	Dec 8
Independence Day	Jul 12
New Year's Day	Jan 1
Teacher's Day	Oct 6
Unaine Day	Jul 8
Uniwaine Day	Jul 7
Women's Day	Mar 10
Youth Day	Aug 11

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.