Banana | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Banana | |
| Coordinates: 1°52′00″N157°24′00″W / 1.86666667°N 157.4°W | |
| Country |  Kiribati |
| Local council | Kiritimati |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 955 |
| Time zone | UTC+14 |
Banana is a village in Kiribati, located on the island of Kiritimati, within the Archipelago of Line Islands. It is located close to Cassidy International Airport.
In 1962, when over 4,000 American servicemen were on the island as part of Operation Dominic, the village became known as Banana for unclear reasons. [1]
In 2010, Banana was inhabited by 955 people, making it the third most populous of the four villages on the island. [2]
Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island, Banaba. Its total land area is 811 km2 (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km2 (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean.
Kiritimati is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, in which the combination ti is pronounced s.
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands are a chain of 11 atolls and coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands. Eight of the atolls are parts of Kiribati. The remaining three—Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll—are territories of the United States grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Line Islands, all of which were formed by volcanic activity, are one of the longest island chains in the world, stretching 2,350 km (1,460 mi) from northwest to southeast. One of them, Starbuck Island, is near the geographic center of the Pacific Ocean. Another, Kiritimati, has the largest land area of any atoll in the world. Only Kiritimati, Tabuaeran, and Teraina have a permanent population. Besides the 11 confirmed atolls and islands, Filippo Reef is shown on some maps, but its existence is doubted.
The demographics of Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, are known through national censuses, which have been analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1920s. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics have conducted this task since 1977—the first census since Nauru gained independence in 1968. The most recent census of Nauru was on 30 October 2021, when population had reached 11,680 people. The population density is 554 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy is 63.9 years. The population rose steadily from the 1960s until 2006 when the Government of Nauru repatriated thousands of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati workers from the country. Since 1992, Nauru's birth rate has exceeded its death rate; the natural growth rate is positive. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15–59-year-old segment (57%). The median age of the population is 21.6, and the estimated gender ratio of the population is 101.8 males per 100 females.
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They constitute the main part of the nation of Kiribati.
Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the Gilberts, Hiram Bingham II. Abaiang has a population of 5,872.
Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets along the north side. Bikati and Bikatieta islets occupy a corner of the reef at the extreme northwest tip of the atoll. Small islets are found on reef sections between channels on the west side. The lagoon of Butaritari is deep and can accommodate large ships, though the entrance passages are relatively narrow. It is the most fertile of the Gilbert Islands, with relatively good soils and high rainfall. Butaritari atoll has a land area of 13.49 km2 (5.21 sq mi) and a population of 3,224 as of 2015. During World War II, Butaritari was known by United States Armed Forces as Makin Atoll, and was the site of the Battle of Makin. Locally, Makin is the name of a separate but closest atoll, 3 kilometres to the northeast of Butaritari, but close enough to be seen. These two atolls share a dialect of the Gilbertese language.
Caroline Island is the easternmost of several uninhabited coral atolls comprising the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati.
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, in the Micronesia region of the central Pacific Ocean. It comprises North Tarawa, which has 6,629 inhabitants and much in common with other more remote islands of the Gilbert group, and South Tarawa, which has 56,388 inhabitants as of 2015, half of the country's total population. The atoll was the site of the Battle of Tarawa during World War II.
Teraina is a coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean and part of the Northern Line Islands which belong to Kiribati. Obsolete names of Teraina are New Marquesas, Prospect Island, and New York Island. The island is located approximately 4.71° North latitude and 160.76° West longitude. Teraina differs from most other atolls in the world in that it has a large freshwater lake, an open lens, concealed within its luxuriant coconut palm forest; this is the only permanent freshwater lake in the whole of Kiribati.
Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of 27.37 square kilometres and a population of 3,299 as of 2015. The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of the atoll of Abemama is linked together by causeways making automobile traffic possible between the different islets. The outlying islands of Abatiku and Biike are situated on the southwestern side of the atoll.
Kuria is an atoll, formed by a pair of islets, in the Central Gilbert Islands in Kiribati, northwest of Aranuka. The two islets, Buariki and Oneeke, are separated by a 20 metre wide channel on a shallow water platform, which is crossed by a bridge of the connecting road. The islands are surrounded by fringing reef which is broadest on the eastern side of Kuria. The population of Kuria was 1,046 in 2015.
Maiana is an atoll in Kiribati and is one of the Central Gilbert Islands. Maiana is 44 kilometres (27 mi) south of the capital island of South Tarawa and has a population of 1,982 as of 2015. The northern and eastern sides of the atoll are a single island, whilst the western edge consists of submerged reefs and many uninhabited islets, all surrounding a lagoon. The atoll is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long and is very narrow, with an average width of less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) and a total land area of 16.72 square kilometres (6.46 sq mi).
Marakei is a small atoll in the North Gilbert Islands. It consists of a central lagoon with numerous deep basins, surrounded by two large islands separated by two narrow channels. The atoll covers approximately 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi).
London is a village in Kiribati, located on the island of Kiritimati, within the archipelago of Line Islands. It is the administrative capital of Kiritimati.
Cassidy International Airport is an airport located north of Banana, a settlement on Kiritimati island in Kiribati. Until 2018, it was the only airport in the Kiribati part of the Line Islands with an IATA or ICAO code.
Makin is the name of an atoll, chain of islands, located in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. Makin is the northernmost of the Gilbert Islands, with a population of 1,990.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Kiribati, with Catholicism being its largest denomination.
Education in Kiribati is free and compulsory from age 6 to 14, which includes primary school through grade six, and Junior Secondary School for three additional grade levels. In 1998, the gross primary enrollment rate was 84.4 percent, and net primary enrollment rate was 70.7 percent. School quality and access to education are better in urban areas; schools in small communities on isolated islands are expensive to maintain. Mission schools are slowly being absorbed into the government primary school system.
The Republic of Kiribati's per capita Gross National Product 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.