Where Is The Republic Of Kiribati?

The Republic of Kiribati was formerly part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and are situated in the Pacific Ocean, not far from Fiji.

Kiribati covers an area of 277 square miles and its capital is Bairiki on the Tarawa Atoll. It comprises 33 Pacific coral islands: the Kiribati (formerly Gilbert), Rawaki (formerly Phoenix), Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and three of the Line Islands, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island).

The population of the island complex is about 100 000 people and the people are mainly Micronesian with a Polynesian minority. There are also European and Chinese minorities amongst the population.

The islands were first settled by people in the first century BC and native people lived their unhindered until the early 1600s when the islands were visited by Spanish explorers. A later expedition by British Naval officers was followed up by the establishment of a Christian mission there in 1857.

The islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II and years of political reorganisation followed. The islands gained their independence in 1979.