KIRIBATI

officially Republic of Kiribati island country in the central Pacific Ocean. Of its 33 islands, only 20 are inhabited. The population is concentrated in the 16 Gilbert Islands, which straddle the Equator. From the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati extends 250 miles (400 km) to the west to Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and 1,800 miles to the east, to the Line Islands, three of which are inhabited. In between lie the islands of the Phoenix group, which have no permanent population. The capital is at Bairiki on Tarawa atoll in the northern Gilberts. The republic is a member of the Commonwealth. Kiribati and Tuvalu were formerly joined as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. officially Republic of Kiribati, independent republic within the Commonwealth, composed of three island groups in the central Pacific Ocean. The island groups, from west to east, are the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line islands (excluding three of the Northern Line group, which are territories of the United States). Banaba (formerly Ocean Island), an outlier from the Gilbert Islands, is also part of Kiribati. The capital of Kiribati is Bairiki islet on Tarawa Atoll in the northern Gilberts. Area (33 constituent islands) 313 square miles (811 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 75,000. For information about the regional aspects of Kiribati, see Pacific Islands: Kiribati. Additional reading Tony Whincup, Nareau's Nation: A Portrait of the Gilbert Islands (1979), offers insights into modern life. Rosemary Grimble (ed.), Migrations, Myth, and Magic from the Gilbert Islands: Early Writings of Sir Arthur Grimble (1972), gives an account of myth, legends, and traditions. See also Gerd Koch, The Material Culture of Kiribati (1986; originally published in German, 1965); Alaima Talu et al., Kiribati: Aspects of History (1979); Albert F. Ellis, Ocean Island and Nauru: Their Story (1935); and Barrie Macdonald, Cinderellas of the Empire: Towards a History of Kiribati and Tuvalu (1982), is comprehensive.