geography

Kiribati straddles the equator in the Pacific Ocean, which provides a convenient point of reference. This line geographically divides the Gilbert and Line Groups fairly equally. All of the Phoenix Islands are located 200 miles or more south of the equator. Laterally, Arorae, the westernmost Gilbert, lies about 625 miles east of the nearest Phoenix Island, Nikumaroro. The Line Group is several hundred miles farther east of the Phoenix Group.

At one time, the International Date Line divided the Gilberts from the Phoenix and Line Groups. Kiribati unilaterally moved it to the nation's easternmost boundary on January 1, 1995 so the whole country, from east to west, would finally be on the same day/date. This had the unintended, though inevitable, effect of ensuring that the easternmost atoll would be the first land mass on earth to greet the new millennium on New Year's Day 2000, five years later. The atoll, Caroline Island, was renamed Millennium Island in honor of the occasion. Teburoro Tito, Beretitenti (President) of Kiribati, later called it one of the best accidental outcomes of any decision that he ever made.

The Gilberts consists of 16 islands, all of which are inhabited. From north to south, the Gilbert Group is slightly under 600 miles long. The islands are aligned diagonally from north-northwest to south-southeast. North of the Gilbert Group is the Marshall Islands, and the nation of Tuvalu (the former Ellice Islands of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands British Crown Colony) lies to the south. The tiny island nation of Nauru is sited about 200 miles east of Banaba. Because of its composition, Banaba is not part of the Gilbert chain, but it often is identified as such because of its proximity.

The Phoenix Group is a cluster of eight islands in the middle of the country. It spans under 300 miles from east to west at its widest point. About 200 miles north are Howland and Baker Islands, both of which are uninhabited U.S. dependencies located slightly north of the equator.

The Line Group consists of eight atolls aligned similarly to the Gilbert group, but spread over a much larger area. From end to end, the Lines stretch 1500 miles. At 186 square miles, Kiritimati Atoll, which lies about 100 miles north of the equator, is the largest atoll in the world. About 100 miles northwest of Teraina, the northernmost Line island belonging to Kiribati, are the U.S. dependencies of Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef. Jarvis Island, another U.S. territory, lies 250 miles southwest of Kiritimati Atoll. All three of these U.S. dominions are considered part of the Line Island chain.

From north to south, Kiribati extends 1500 miles as represented by the length of the Line Group. From east to west, Kiribati is about as wide as the United States, stretching across nearly 3,000 miles of ocean. Kiribati demands no greater territorial waters than the international standard, claiming an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of about two million square miles of ocean surrounding its islands.

introduction | history | geography | land | population | economy
government and politics | people | outlook | conclusion | references | appendix

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