Kingman Reef (territory of the US)
See regional map X
Geography
Total area: 1 km²; land area: 1 km²
Comparative area: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 3 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 12 nm
- Continental shelf: 200 m
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing winds
Terrain: low and nearly level with a maximum elevation of about 1 meter
Natural resources: none
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; wet or awash most of the time
Note: located 1,600 km south-southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa; maximum elevation of about 1 meter makes this a navigational hazard; closed to the public
People
Population: uninhabited
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Navy
Economy
Overview: no economic activity
Communications
Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway
station between Hawaii and American
Samoa by Pan American Airways for
flying boats in 1937 and 1938
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the
US
Kiribati
See regional map X
Geography
Total area: 717 km²; land area: 717 km²;
includes three island groups—Gilbert
Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,143 km
Maritime claims:
- Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use: NEGL% arable land; 51% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 46% other
Environment: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited
Note: Banaba or Ocean Island is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific (the others are Makatea in French Polynesia and Nauru)
People
Population: 70,012 (July 1990), growth
rate 1.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 13 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 57 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Kiribatian(s); adjective—Kiribati
169