nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999)
Languages
Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)
I-Kiribati, English (official)
Exports
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
External Debt
$1,051,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar 441.72 (2008 est.), 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
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
Area
28,051 km sq
811 km sq
Coastline
296 km
1,143 km
Climate
tropical; always hot, humid
tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
