Republic of Kiribati, is an independent island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is over 119,000 (2020), more than half of whom live on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba. There is a total land area of 811 square kilometres (313 square miles dispersed over 3.5 million km2 (1.4 million sq mi) of ocean. Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes around Kiribati
Economy: Its GDP of US$1,420 (2010) makes it the poorest country in Oceania. Phosphates had been profitably exported from Banaba Island since the turn of the 20th century, but the deposits were exhausted in 1979. The economy now depends on foreign assistance and revenue from fishing licenses to finance its imports and development budget. The Asian Development Bank’s assessment of Kiribati’s growth potential point identifies constraints imposed by “(i) land area, geographic dispersion across 5,000 km
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