The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

(2007), 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003)

Communications
Kenya

Telephones - main lines in use:

264,800 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

11.44 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line telephone system is small and inefficient; trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system domestic: no recent growth in fixed-line infrastructure and the sole provider, Telkom Kenya, is slated for privatization; multiple providers in the mobile-cellular segment of the market fostering a boom in mobile-cellular telephone usage international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001)

Radios:

3.07 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

8 (2001)

Televisions:

730,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.ke

Internet hosts:

27,376 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

65 (2001)

Internet users:

3 million (2007)

Transportation
Kenya

Airports:

225 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 15 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 210 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 113 under 914 m: 85 (2007)

Pipelines:

refined products 900 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 2,778 km narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 63,265 km (interurban roads) paved: 8,933 km unpaved: 54,332 km note: there also are 100,000 km of rural roads and 14,500 km of urban roads for a national total of 177,765 km (2004)

Waterways:

part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 1 by type: petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Mombasa

Military
Kenya

Military branches:

Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age (est.) for voluntary service, with a 9-year obligation (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 9,044,685 females age 16-49: 8,805,736 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,688,259 females age 16-49: 5,396,166 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 411,032 female: 406,794 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

2.8% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Kenya

Disputes - international:

Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to almost a quarter of a million refugees, including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary that separates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 173,702 (Somalia); 73,004 (Sudan); 16,428 (Ethiopia) IDPs: 250,000-400,000 (2007 post-election violence; KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2007)

Illicit drugs:

widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa; significant potential for money-laundering activity given the country's status as a regional financial center; massive corruption, and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Kiribati

Introduction
Kiribati

Background:

The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892 and a colony in 1915; they were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific War in 1941. The islands of Makin and Tarawa were the sites of major US amphibious victories over entrenched Japanese garrisons in 1943. The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.

Geography
Kiribati

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

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

People
Kiribati

Population:

110,356 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 37.9% (male 21,180/female 20,604) 15-64 years: 58.7% (male 31,993/female 32,797) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,606/female 2,176) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.6 years male: 20.1 years female: 21.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.235% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

30.31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.97 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 44.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 49.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 62.85 years male: 59.79 years female: 66.06 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.08 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati

Ethnic groups:

Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)

Religions:

Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes
Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of
God) 8% (1999)

Languages:

I-Kiribati, English (official)

Literacy:

NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 12 years male: 12 years female: 13 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

17.8% of GDP (2002)

Government
Kiribati

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Tarawa geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)

Independence:

12 July 1979 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 12 July (1979)

Constitution:

12 July 1979

Legal system:

NA

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 17 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 63.7%, Nabuti MWEMWENIKARAWA 32.9%

Legislative branch:

unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms) elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, other 2 (includes attorney general)

Judicial branch:

Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders:

Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG] note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati

Flag description:

the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean

Economy
Kiribati

Economy - overview:

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$348 million (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$67 million (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$3,600 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.9% industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004)

Labor force:

7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: