In 2003, Kiribati was an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean, composed of 33 atolls and islands. It had a population of around 100,000 people, and its capital and largest city was Tarawa. The official language was English but Gilbertese was spoken by the majority of the population. Kiribati’s economy relied heavily on income from exports of fish and copra as well as foreign aid from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. This had resulted in an improved standard of living for many Kiribatians, although there were still pockets of poverty in some areas. Education levels were high compared to other countries in the region, with a literacy rate close to 90%. Healthcare access was also good due to government efforts to provide universal health care coverage. According to computergees, crime rates were relatively low compared to other countries in the region, and there were no reports of political violence in 2003. The government at the time was led by President Teburoro Tito who had been elected in 1994 and had implemented several economic reforms such as reducing tariffs on imports and introducing labor reforms. Despite its small size, Kiribati maintained strong cultural ties to its neighbors including its unique cuisine as well as its rich history of literature, music and art forms such as te mwaie which have been passed down for centuries.
Yearbook 2003
Kiribati. According to Countryaah.com, Kiribati Independence Day is July 12. Teburoro Tito was re-elected for a third term in the presidential election Feb. 24 after defeating Tarberannang Timeon by a marginal margin. On March 28, the new government fell after losing a vote on the budget. A transitional government took over pending new elections.
Elections to Parliament’s 42 seats were held on May 9. Tito’s political group, Maneaban Te Mauri, was the largest with 24 seats. In the new presidential election on July 4, former minister Anote Tong overcame his older brother, political veteran Harry Tong.
Parliament was reopened in September and the state budget was approved. During the election campaign, Anote Tong pledged to act against China, which has a disputed satellite monitoring facility on the main tarawa Tarawa. As part of that policy, the government established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in November, leading to China breaking its relations with Kiribati. In November, information came out that Chinese technicians had begun to dismantle the monitoring equipment.
Republic of Kiribati Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, The Republic of Kiribati, or Kiribati, is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of 33 atolls covering an area of 3,800 square kilometers near the equator. The name of the country is pronounced locally [kiribæs], which is the local way of pronouncing the English name of the main archipelago Gilbert Islands acronym Gilberts.
Food and drink
The basic food and raw materials of the Kiribati people come from seafood, because of the nature of the atolls, only a few crops thrive in the region. However, the vegetables used are coconuts, taro, breadfruit, figs and drill palms. Rice is an imported food that is becoming more common in the islands. Water and beverages must be industrially bottled. It is also a good idea to rinse fruits and vegetables with bottled water. Heated or tablet-purified water can be drunk. Reheated foods should be avoided.
Travel Seasons
The best time to travel is during our summer season, the quietest season in October and November. Cyclone season from November to April.
Eco-friendly tourism
We try to act according to ecological principles and respect local people, customs and fauna on all our trips in order to save these experiences for others as well.
HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
In 1998, according to one estimate, the residents were 81,000, 11 % more than in the 1990 census. In the early 1990s a process of demographic redistribution took place, with the transfer of several thousand residents from the overpopulated main islands to the smaller atolls.
According to estimates by the World Bank, since 1990 the GDP has increased by 1 % per year: within it, the product of the primary sector (agriculture and fisheries), which continues to employ the vast majority of the active population, has registered an annual increase of 6, 6 %, and that of services, to which tourism is increasingly contributing, increased by 0, 1%, compared to a decline in industrial product. Despite belonging to the British Commonwealth, Kiribati maintains poor relations with developed countries, with the exception of Australia (of which it shares the currency), which is the main partner of the very modest trade, in absolute prevalence of imports; the most important recipients of exports, on the other hand, remain the countries of the European Union. In 1995, negotiations began between Kiribati and three other tiny island states (Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall) for the creation of a local airline, so as to strengthen the tourist offer in the islands themselves, discouraging foreign investments.
The country, one of the least developed in the world, is heavily dependent on foreign aid and suffers serious interference in its economy, linked to the traditional sale of fishing licenses (traffic that ensures over 40 % of GDP) and the related illegal activities of fleets foreigners in its ‘exclusive economic zone’ (see fishing, App. V). Furthermore, Kiribati has not so far benefited from the substantial investments made by foreign companies specialized in telecommunications and satellite surveys, recently attracted to the country by the peculiarity of the position advantages.