| Geography | Kiribati |
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Location:
 | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about half way between Hawaii and Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Geographic coordinates:
 | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Map references:
 | Oceania |
Area:
 | total: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative:
 | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Land boundaries:
 | 0 km |
Coastline:
 | 1,143 km |
Maritime claims:
 | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Climate:
 | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Terrain:
 | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Elevation extremes:
 | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Natural resources:
 | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Land use:
 | arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
 | NA |
Total renewable water resources:
 | void |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
 | void |
Natural hazards:
 | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level |
Environment - current issues:
 | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
Environment - international agreements:
 | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note:
 | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
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