Kiribati was inhabited by a single Micronesian ethnic group that spoke the same Oceanic language for 2,000 years before coming into contact with Europeans.

The islands were first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by a Russian admiral, Adam von Krusenstern, and French captain Louis Duperrey, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788.

The first British settlers arrived in 1837. In 1892, the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate together with the nearby Ellice Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown colony in 1916.

Kiritimati (Christmas Island) became a part of the colony in 1919 and the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937.

Tarawa Atoll and others of the Gilbert group were occupied by Japan during World War II.

Tarawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history when Marines landed in Nov. 1943, the Battle of Tarawa was fought at Kiribati's former capital Betio on Tarawa Atoll.

The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati.

The U.S. relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 107,817 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 20,886/female 20,322) 15-64 years: 58.4% (male 31,083/female 31,884) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,554/female 2,088) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 20.4 years male: 19.9 years female: 20.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.235% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.975 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.744 male(s)/female total population: 0.986 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 46.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.45 years male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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

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Ethnic groups: Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)

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

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Languages: I-Kiribati, English (official)

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Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $240 million (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $76.4 million (2005 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 0.3% (2005)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,800 (2004 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8.9% industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004)

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Labor force: 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 2.7% industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000)

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Unemployment rate: 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.5% (2005 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $55.52 million expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05)

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Agriculture - products: copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish

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Industries: fishing, handicrafts

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Industrial production growth rate: 0.7% (1991 est.)

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Electricity - production: 13 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 12.09 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 200 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$19.87 million (2004)

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Exports: $17 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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Exports - commodities: copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish

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Exports - partners: US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2006)

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Imports: $62 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

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Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel

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Imports - partners: Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006)

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Debt - external: $10 million (1999 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $16.7 million largely from UK and Japan (2004)

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Currency (code): Australian dollar (AUD)

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Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)

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Fiscal year: NA