Kiribati
Kiribati (pronounced kee-ree-bas) is a far-flung nation of islands in the Pacific that straddles the Equator. It also straddled the international date line until Kiribati passed legislation moving it to the country's eastern border. Moving the date line allowed Kiribati to become the first nation to greet the coming of the new millennium in 2001.
Kiribati is approximately halfway between Australia and Hawaii. Its thirty-three coral atolls stretch 3,870 kilometers (2,360 miles) across, from the easternmost of the Line Islands (Caroline) to its westernmost island (Banaba), and 2,050 kilometers (1,250 miles) from north to south. The land area of Kiribati is only 719 square kilometers (266 square miles), out of a total of about 3.3 million kilometers (1.3 million square miles) of national territory, so most of the country's area is ocean. The capital of Kiribati is Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands group. Kiribati's estimated population in 2003 was 98,549. Historically, Kiribati derived much of its national income from phosphate mining on Banaba, but the phosphate deposits were depleted by the time Kiribati gained its independence from British rule in 1979. The principal sources of wealth for the country in the early twenty-first century are fishing and copra exports, along with tourism. Its per capita income in 2001 was estimated to be U.S. $800, making Kiribati one of the poorest nations in the Pacific region and, indeed, the world.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)Kiribati became an independent nation and a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations on July 12, 1979. Its constitution provides for a president, a unicameral parliament (consisting of forty-two members in 2003), and an independent judiciary. Presidential candidates are nominated from among the members of parliament to be elected in a national presidential election by universal suffrage for a four-year term. However, the president may be (and has been) removed from office by a vote of no-confidence and replaced by a Council of State until a new president is elected. The president is both chief of state and head of government. The president appoints a vice president and, from the membership of parliament, a cabinet of twelve members. The country's first president was Ieremia Tabai (b. 1950), the chief minister during the colonial regime. Anote Tong (b. 1952) was elected president in July 2003.
The judicial branch consists of a Court of Appeals, a High Court, and Land and Magistrates courts at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy. Residents of Banaba may appeal Court of Appeals rulings to the Privy Council in London. The judiciary has the reputation of being independent and the country generally enjoys the rule of law.
Freedom House's 2003 analysis classified Kiribati as a free nation with the highest levels of support for civil and political rights. The U.S. State Department human rights report in 2003 also concluded that Kiribati's government generally respects its citizens' rights. It did mention, however, some limits on freedom of the press, a lack of economic opportunities for women, and the problem of abuse directed at women and children in urban areas.
Bibliography
Banks, Arthur S., and William Overstreet. "Nauru." Political Handbook of the World 1980. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
"Kiribati." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/kr.html>.
"Kiribati." Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. <http:www.bartleby.com/65/ki/Kir ibati.html>.
Freedom House. "Kiribati." Freedom in the World 2003: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. New York: Freedom House, 2003. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2003/countryratings/kir ibati.htm>.
U.S. Department of State. "Kiribati." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2003. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2003/27773.htm>.
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