Kiribati Country Overview
Where is Kiribati located? The island state of Kiribati is located in the Pacific and its territory also includes some islands of Micronesia and Polynesia. The time zone is called “International Date Line East” and has a time difference of 12 hours to the coordinated world time. One speaks of a standard difference of UTC+12, which means that clocks in the Kiribati region are always 12 hours ahead of the world clock. It stays that way all year round, as there is no changeover to daylight saving time in summer.
Bordering Countries of Kiribati
According to abbreviationfinder, Kiribati is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean and consists of 33 atolls and islands. It is bordered by four countries: Tuvalu to the south, Marshall Islands to the north, Nauru to the east, and Fiji to the west. Kiribati has a total land boundary of 1,143 km which includes 480 km with Tuvalu, 431 km with Marshall Islands, 184 km with Nauru and 48 km with Fiji.
Kiribati borders Tuvalu to its south; this border is formed by a line drawn between Kiribati’s Line Islands and Tuvalu’s Funafuti Atoll. The two countries have had close ties since 1978 when they established diplomatic relations and have since worked towards strengthening their relationship through joint initiatives such as infrastructure projects within their shared boundaries.
To Kiribati’s north lies Marshall Islands; this border is formed by a line drawn between Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands group and Marshall Islands’ Majuro Atoll. The two countries have had friendly relations since 1979 when they became independent states but have since worked towards improving their ties through joint projects such as security cooperation within their shared boundaries.
Kiribati also shares land borders with Nauru to its east; this border is formed by a line drawn between Kiribati’s Gilbert Islands group and Nauru’s Anabar Island. The two countries have had strong diplomatic ties for many years now and are working together on issues such as trade agreements within their shared boundaries.
Finally, Kiribati shares land borders with Fiji to its west; this border is formed by a line drawn between Kiribati’s Line Islands group and Fiji’s Viti Levu Island. Despite having tense relations at times due to conflicts over cross-border fishing rights within their shared boundaries, both countries have been working together for years now on issues such as climate change adaptation initiatives within their shared borders.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Kiribati is 111,796, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 111,796 |
| Population growth rate | 1.09% |
| Birth rate | 21.20 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 65.11 years |
| Men | 62.70 years |
| Women | 67.64 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 29.27% |
| 15-64 years | 66.40% |
| 65 years and above | 4.34% |
| Median age | 23.90 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.96 |
| Population density | 137.85 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 47.30% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 96% Micronesians, 4% Polynesians, Europeans and others | |
| Religions | |
| Catholics (Roman Catholic) 52%, Protestants (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-day Adventists, Baha’i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.623 |
| HDI ranking | 132nd out of 194 |
People in Kiribati
The people of Kiribati call themselves I-Kiribati. About 103,000 people inhabit the islets. Most of them are originally from Micronesia. Here you can see some photos of people in Kiribati.
An average of 127 people per square meter live in Kiribati. However, the distribution is very different. 80 out of 100 people live on the Gilbert Islands and 40 out of 100 on the main island of the country called Tarawa. The capital South Tarawa is also located here. In Kiribati, the average age is 62 years. 90 out of 100 people can read and write because there are elementary schools on the larger islands.
Languages in Kiribati
The official languages are Kiribati and English. For Kiribati you will sometimes find the name Gilbertian, as the islands were once called Gilbert Islands. Most people consider this language to be their mother tongue.
Religions in Kiribati
A little over half of the people in Kiribati are Catholics, 34 out of 100 Protestants. There are also smaller groups of Mormons, followers of the Baha’i religion and other religions.