Kiribati Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to overcrowding mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk; potential for water shortages, disease; coastal erosion

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 10.45 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.07 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.02 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

Land use

agricultural land: 42% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 39.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 15% (2018 est.)

other: 43% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 57.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.04% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: malaria

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 35,724 tons (2016 est.)

Total renewable water resources

0 cubic meters (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Kiribati on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kiribati 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kiribati 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.