typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March;
occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them
sensitive to changes in sea level

Environment - current issues:

heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy
migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines
and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in
Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru

People
Kiribati

Population:

110,356 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 37.9% (male 21,180/female 20,604)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 31,993/female 32,797)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,606/female 2,176) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.6 years
male: 20.1 years
female: 21.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.235% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

30.31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.97 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 44.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 49.61 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 62.85 years
male: 59.79 years
female: 66.06 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.08 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati

Ethnic groups:

Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)

Religions:

Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes
Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of
God) 8% (1999)

Languages:

I-Kiribati, English (official)

Literacy: