Category: Kiribati

The Republic of Kiribati (local pronunciation Kiribas) is an island country, bathed by the Pacific Ocean. There are 33 islands and atolls, only 20 of which are inhabited by 107 thousand residents (2016). The capital is Tarawa (village of Bairiki). The islands of Kiribati were explored by the Spanish in 1537. The British arrived in the 18th century. From 1892, it became a British protectorate, like the Gilbert Islands. Independence was achieved in 1979 under the name of Kiribati. In 2012, fearing that a possible global warming would cause the islands to flood, the Kiribati government acquired land in Fiji for a possible population change.