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.
Kiribati consists of 32 atolls and one island in an expanse of ocean equivalent in size to the contiguous United States. The islands are scattered such that Kiribati has territory located in each of the four hemispheres. The islands of Kiribati lie roughly halfway between Hawaii and Australia in the Micronesian and Polynesian regions of the South Pacific. The three main island groupings are the Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands, and Line Islands. On 1 January 1995 Kiribati moved the International Date Line to include its easternmost islands and make it the same day throughout the country.
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony was mainly characterized by phosphate mining on Ocean Island. In October 1975, these islands were divided by force of law into two separate colonies, and they became independent nations shortly thereafter: the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978, and the Gilbert Islands became part of Kiribati in 1979.
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 Gilberts 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.
The important town of Bairiki, which is located in South Tarawa, Kiribati, is crucial to the country's political and administrative structure. This region houses important governmental organizations and diplomatic missions, making it the center of national politics and international affairs.
South Tarawa is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki and Tanaea in the north-east, connected by the South Tarawa main road, with a population of 63,439 as of 2020.
The House of Assembly is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fiji. From 1979 to 2016, the Attorney general was an ex officio member of the legislature, until a change of the constitution modified this provision.
Nikunau is a low coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands that forms a council district of the Republic of Kiribati. It consists of two parts, with the larger in the northwest, joined by an isthmus about 150 metres (490 ft) wide.
Abaokoro is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located about nine nautical miles from Tarawa. It is located in the Tarawa Atoll.
Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which are now linked by causeways. The low-lying atoll is vulnerable to sea level rise. Rapid population growth has caused some environmental problems. Kiribati's main government high school, King George V and Elaine Bernachi School, is located in Bikenibeu, as well as the Ministries of Environment and Education.
Buariki is an island in northern Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. It was the site of the Battle of Buariki in World War II.
Biketawa is one of the twenty-four small islets which comprise the atoll of Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati. The capital of Kiribati, South Tarawa, is located on Tarawa.
Bonriki is a settlement on Tarawa atoll, Kiribati, near Temwaiku and is part of the municipality of South Tarawa. It is in the south-east of South Tarawa. Bonriki International Airport, one of two international airports in Kiribati, is located here. One of the first roads linking islands together in Tarawa connects Bonriki to Bikenibeu.
Buota is an islet and a settlement on the island of Tarawa, Kiribati. There are 1,756 inhabitants (2015). The islet is the southernmost part of North Tarawa even if there is a bridge connecting it to Bonriki and South Tarawa.
Taborio is a settlement on the island of Tarawa, Kiribati, where the Immaculate Heart College, a Catholic school, is situated.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a religious building of the Catholic church that is located in South Tarawa on the atoll of Tarawa part of the island nation of Kiribati in Oceania.
King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School (KGV/EBS) is a government senior high school of Kiribati, located in Bikenibeu, South Tarawa. As of 1993 it has almost 600 students. In 1993 it had a competitive admissions process as there was not enough space for every high school student in Kiribati; the remainder had to enroll in Christian high schools. Since then the Kiribati government had established two additional government high schools.
King George V School (KGV) was a government high school for boys in the Gilbert Islands, within the British colony Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Throughout its history it was in multiple locations in South Tarawa and Abemama. It served as a boarding school, and trained people to be government workers and teachers.
Teaoraereke is a town and settlement in South Tarawa of Kiribati.
