Where is Kiribati located?

Kiribati is an island country located in the central Pacific Ocean. Its 33 islands are scattered over a vast area, with only 20 inhabited. The island nation extends 1,800 miles (2,900 km) eastward from the 16 Gilbert Islands, where most of the population lives, to the Line Islands, of which 3 are inhabited. The Phoenix group lies in between these islands but has no permanent population. The country's total land area is 313 square miles (811 square km). The capital and government centers are on the islets of Ambo, Bairiki, and Betio, all part of South Tarawa in the northern Gilberts.

What role did Kiribati play during World War II?

During World War II, the islands of Kiribati, then known as the Gilbert Islands, were occupied by Japanese forces in 1941. In 1943, Allied troops ejected the Japanese forces. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to launch a limited offensive in the central Pacific in 1943, invading the Gilbert Islands on November 23, 1943. While Makin fell easily, the well-fortified Japanese defenses on Tarawa cost the U.S. Marines 1,000 killed and 2,300 wounded. Japanese losses in the Gilberts totaled about 8,500 men. The Allied victories in 1943 set the stage for the strategic advances of 1944.

How did Kiribati gain independence?

Kiribati gained independence in 1979 after a history of British administration. The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892, and in 1916, they were linked with the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Ethnic tensions led to the division of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands into two territories in 1975–76. The Gilbert Islands achieved independence under the name Kiribati in 1979. After independence, Kiribati prioritized economic development, focusing on marine resources and its strategic equatorial location for space projects.

What challenges has Kiribati faced since becoming independent?

Since gaining independence in 1979, Kiribati has faced significant challenges, including economic and environmental issues. Economically, Kiribati's phosphate mining on Banaba Island was exhausted by 1979. The country then became reliant on its reserve fund, copra exports, and fees from foreign fishing fleets. Kiribati has prioritized economic development by exploiting marine resources and utilizing its location for space launch and satellite tracking projects. Additionally, rising sea levels threaten to submerge Kiribati's islands. The government has considered strategies such as emigration for skilled workers and creating artificial islands. In 2014, Kiribati purchased land in Fiji as a potential new homeland and for food production.

history of Kiribati

Introduction References & Edit History

Images

Map of the central and western Pacific Ocean highlighting Kiribati and neighboring island nations and territories. The map shows political boundaries, major islands, and cities, including the Caroline Islands archipelago, with labeled countries such as Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, and others, as well as territories administered by the United States, New Zealand, France, and Australia.

Map showing the location of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean, outlined in orange, with nearby countries and islands labeled, including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa, Marshall Islands, and New Zealand. The capital, Bairiki, is marked within Kiribati's territory.

U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943

history of Kiribati

Written by

Sophie FosterAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

Where is Kiribati located?
Kiribati is an island country located in the central Pacific Ocean. Its 33 islands are scattered over a vast area, with only 20 inhabited. The island nation extends 1,800 miles (2,900 km) eastward from the 16 Gilbert Islands, where most of the population lives, to the Line Islands, of which 3 are inhabited. The Phoenix group lies in between these islands but has no permanent population. The country's total land area is 313 square miles (811 square km). The capital and government centers are on the islets of Ambo, Bairiki, and Betio, all part of South Tarawa in the northern Gilberts.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Who were the first people to live in Kiribati?
The first people to settle in the Gilbert Islands and Banaba, which are part of Kiribati, migrated from Southeast Asia through Micronesia approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. Around the 14th century CE, the southern islands experienced an influx of Samoans, after which the islanders adopted a gerontocratic style of government. The Line and Phoenix Islands, also part of Kiribati, did not have a prehistoric population.

Spanish explorers first sighted some of the islands in the 16th century. However, most of Kiribati wasn't charted until the early 19th century, when whalers and coconut oil traders arrived.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Europeans first come into contact with Kiribati?
The first contact between Europeans and Kiribati occurred when Spanish explorers sighted some of the islands in the 16th century. However, most of Kiribati wasn't charted until the early 19th century, when whalers and coconut oil traders reached the islands. The first settlers in the Gilbert Islands and Banaba came from Southeast Asia, by way of Micronesia, some 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. In approximately the 14th century, the southern islands experienced an influx of Samoans, after which the islanders adopted a gerontocratic style of government. The Line and Phoenix Islands did not have a prehistoric population.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What role did Kiribati play during World War II?
During World War II, the islands of Kiribati, then known as the Gilbert Islands, were occupied by Japanese forces in 1941. In 1943, Allied troops ejected the Japanese forces. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to launch a limited offensive in the central Pacific in 1943, invading the Gilbert Islands on November 23, 1943. While Makin fell easily, the well-fortified Japanese defenses on Tarawa cost the U.S. Marines 1,000 killed and 2,300 wounded. Japanese losses in the Gilberts totaled about 8,500 men. The Allied victories in 1943 set the stage for the strategic advances of 1944.
6 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Kiribati gain independence?
Kiribati gained independence in 1979 after a history of British administration. The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892, and in 1916, they were linked with the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Ethnic tensions led to the division of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands into two territories in 1975–76. The Gilbert Islands achieved independence under the name Kiribati in 1979. After independence, Kiribati prioritized economic development, focusing on marine resources and its strategic equatorial location for space projects.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What challenges has Kiribati faced since becoming independent?
Since gaining independence in 1979, Kiribati has faced significant challenges, including economic and environmental issues.

Economically, Kiribati's phosphate mining on Banaba Island was exhausted by 1979. The country then became reliant on its reserve fund, copra exports, and fees from foreign fishing fleets. Kiribati has prioritized economic development by exploiting marine resources and utilizing its location for space launch and satellite tracking projects.

Additionally, rising sea levels threaten to submerge Kiribati's islands. The government has considered strategies such as emigration for skilled workers and creating artificial islands. In 2014, Kiribati purchased land in Fiji as a potential new homeland and for food production.
2 Britannica Sources
1. history of Kiribati
2. Kiribati: Land
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

history of Kiribati, a survey of notable events and people in the history of Kiribati (an island country in the central Pacific Ocean). The 33 islands of Kiribati, of which only 20 are inhabited, are scattered over a vast area of ocean. Kiribati extends 1,800 miles (2,900 km) eastward from the 16 Gilbert Islands, where the population is concentrated, to the Line Islands, of which 3 are inhabited. The capital and government centers are at Ambo, Bairiki, and Betio, all islets of South Tarawa in the northern Gilberts. Kiribati and Tuvalu were formerly joined as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

The first settlers in the Gilbert Islands and Banaba came from Southeast Asia, by way of Micronesia, some 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. About the 14th century ce the southern islands received an influx of Samoans, and soon thereafter the islanders adopted a gerontocratic style of government (i.e., based on rule by elders). The Line and Phoenix islands had no prehistoric population.

Spanish explorers sighted some of the islands in the 16th century, but most of Kiribati was not charted until the early 19th century, when first whalers and then coconut oil traders reached the islands. From the mid-19th century Gilbert Islanders were recruited to work on plantations elsewhere in the region.

The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892, and Banaba was annexed in 1900 after the discovery of its rich phosphate deposits. Both were linked with the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916; the colony subsequently was extended to include most of the Phoenix and Line island groups and, for a time, Tokelau. Administration was through island governments, which sometimes became enmeshed in sectarian rivalries between Roman Catholics and Protestants. As a response to drought and perceived overpopulation in the 1930s, a resettlement plan was initiated for the Phoenix Islands; under a later plan, other islanders were resettled in the Solomon Islands.

During World War II (1939–45) the islands were occupied by Japan, which was later ejected by Allied forces. The colony had few services until aid-funded development programs were introduced after the war. An elected House of Representatives was established in 1967. The subsequent emergence of ethnic tensions led to the division of the Gilbert Islands and the Ellice Islands into two territories in 1975–76. In 1971 the Banabans sued the British government for a greater share of royalties from phosphate mining and compensation for the island’s environmental devastation. The trial ended inconclusively and without a court order to have the mining company restore the land, the outcome for which the Banabans had hoped. In 1981 the community agreed to Britain’s offer of a onetime trust payment of $10 million (Australian) in return for the abandonment of further litigation. The Gilbert Islands achieved independence under the name Kiribati in 1979.

After independence a high priority was given to economic development, especially the exploitation of marine resources and the use of the country’s strategic position astride the Equator for space launch and tracking projects. Both Japan and China constructed Earth-satellite telemetry stations in the late 1990s, although China dismantled its facilities after Kiribati shifted its formal recognition of China to Taiwan in return for economic assistance in 2003. A commercial satellite-launch platform located on a converted oil-drilling rig east of Kiritimati began operation in the late 1990s. Kiribati belongs to the Pacific Islands Forum, the International Whaling Commission, the Commonwealth, and the United Nations.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries rising sea levels (thought to be a result of climate change) threatened to contaminate and eventually submerge Kiribati’s low-lying islands. The government investigated strategies for preparing the country for the future and ensuring citizens’ future safety. Possible long-term solutions include encouraging skilled workers to emigrate as well as purchasing land elsewhere in the Pacific and creating artificial islets in the ocean—similar to offshore oil-drilling platforms—to which the population could be moved should some or all of the islands of Kiribati become uninhabitable. In 2014 the government bought some 8 square miles (20 square km) of land on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu that could serve as a new homeland if one became necessary and that in the interim could be used for supplemental food production.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

Barrie K. Macdonald Sophie Foster The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

history of Kiribati

Thank you for signing up!