From nuclear tests and vanishing islands to the first country to celebrate the New Year, these are the most interesting facts about Kiribati.
Fast facts
Official name: Republic of Kiribati
Capital city: Tarawa
Population: 135,389
Area: 811 sq km
Major languages: I-Kiribati, English
Time zone: UTC+12/+13/+14 (Gilbert Island Time/Phoenix Island Time/Line Islands Time)
Interesting facts about Kiribati
1. Kiribati in Oceania is made up of 33 atolls – ring-shaped reefs or series of islets caused by submerged volcanoes – of which only 20 are inhabited.
2. The first settlers in Kiribati came from Southeast Asia via Micronesia around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
3. Between the 11th and 14th centuries, Samoans migrated to the islands, followed by Fijians and Tongans.
4. The first Europeans to sight the islands were Spanish explorers in the 16th century, but the majority of Kiribati was not mapped (by Westerners) until the early 19th century.
5. In 1820, Kiribati was named the Gilbert Islands after British naval captain Thomas Gilbert, who encountered several of the islands in 1788 when sailing from Australia to China.
6. Kiribati was a British protectorate from 1892 until 1979 when it became independent and was officially renamed Kiribati.
7. For six years, from 1957, the British military conducted nuclear tests on Christmas Island (and Malden Island) in Kiribati. As a result, parts of the island were sealed off for decades.
A nuclear bomb test on Malden Island in Kiribati in 1957 (Public domain, Universal City Studios, Wikimedia Commons)
8. The name Kiribati is the local translation of Gilberts. The local language is Gilbertese, or I-Kiribati. The language has 13 sounds and ti is pronounced as see. Therefore, Kiribati is pronounced ‘Ki-ri-bas.’ Likewise, Christmas Island is written as Kiritimati Island.
9. During the Second World War, parts of Kiribati were occupied by Japan. US forces liberated the islands during the Battle of Tarawa in 1943 – one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history.
10. Despite having only a tiny land area of 811 sq km, Kiribati is spread across an area roughly the size of India.
11. Kiribati is the furthest (14 hours) ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), making it the first country in the world to celebrate a New Year.
12. Kiribati is the only country in the world to fall into all four hemispheres (northern, southern, eastern and western).
13. Kiribati is home to the world’s largest designated Marine Protected Area. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is also the country’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site.
14. With a mean elevation of just two meters, Kiribati has one of the world’s lowest average elevations.
15. As such, this low-lying country is under threat from rising sea levels caused by climate change.
16. In 1999, two uninhabited Kiribati islands, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater.
17. Kiribati has purchased 6,000 acres (24 sq km) of land in Fiji in case rising sea levels force the permanent evacuation of its residents.
18. Kiribati’s flag is made up of six wavy horizontal stripes of white and blue representing the Pacific Ocean and the islands. The top of the flag is red with a yellow sun and a local frigate bird.
See how Kiribati’s flag compares to other Oceania flags.
19. The main island of South Tarawa is one of the most densely populated places on earth, with a population density similar to Tokyo or Hong Kong.
20. Overall, Kiribati has the fourth-highest population density in Oceania, with around 183 people per square kilometer.
21. There’s only one road on the main island of South Tarawa which is in very poor condition. Potholes and wash-aways are commonplace.
22. Kiribati is the third-least visited country in the world. Receiving around 6,000 visitors a year, only fellow Pacific island nations, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu receive fewer tourists.
23. There were no political parties in general elections in Kiribati until 1985. Instead, candidates stood for election as independent individuals.
24. Kiribati is one of just 21 countries that do not have an army.
25. Kiribati has the ninth-highest smoking rate in the world, with 37% of the population smoking daily.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.