Kiribati

In brief

Kiribati is a country in Micronesia (Oceania). Its capital is South Tarawa. With 136,488 inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 178th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 811 km². An island nation, Kiribati has no land border.

GDP per capita stands at $2,559 (2025), 149th in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 66.6 years (2024). 63% of the population lives in cities.

History of Kiribati

Settled by Micronesians, the Gilbert Islands formed a British colony with the Ellice Islands; the Battle of Tarawa in 1943 was one of the bloodiest of the Pacific War. The Ellice Islands became Tuvalu, and the Gilberts won independence on 12 July 1979 as Kiribati, the local rendering of “Gilberts”. In 1995 the country moved the International Date Line so that all its islands share the same day.

Geography of Kiribati

Thirty-three atolls and islands scattered over a vast stretch of the Pacific: Kiribati is the only country lying in all four hemispheres. Kiritimati is the atoll with the largest land area in the world. Almost all the land lies only a few metres above the sea.

Map of Kiribati

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Flag of Kiribati

The flag of Kiribati is red, white, blue and yellow. Its official proportions are 1:2 (height to width).

• Red45%
• White24%
• Blue24%
• Yellow7%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

At the top, on red, a gold frigatebird flies over a rising sun; at the bottom, blue and white waves represent the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Kiribati” and “Flag of Kiribati”.

See also: flags with a sun.

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Fact file

Economy and society