Kiribati is a country of island groups in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.Kiribati, or Republic of Kiribati, an independent island country in the central Pacific Ocean near the Equator. Kiribati consists of the Gilbert Islands, Ocean Island, the Phoenix Islands, and most of the Line Islands. Virtually all of the islands are coral atolls. The island groups are scattered over an area of roughly 2,000,000 square miles (5,200,000 km 2 ) and have a combined land area of 332 square miles (860 km 2 ).
The people are Micronesians. Most live in the Gilbert Islands. Their native language is called Kiribati; English is also spoken. An island in the Gilberts named Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati.
Kiribati was part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands until 1975, when the Ellice Islands (now the independent country of Tuvalu) were made a separate colony. The Gilbert colony gained independence as Kiribati in 1979. The government began a program of resettlement in 1988, moving residents from overpopulated islands. A further program was instituted in 1995.
