Kiribati Political system
According to DISEASESLEARNING.COM, Kiribati is a parliamentary republic. The parliament consists of a chamber called “Maneaba Ni Maungatabu” with 41 seats. Of these, 39 MPs are directly elected. The other two MPs are one representative of the Kiribatians abroad and one is ex officio. There is no party system as we understand it. The elected come together to form groups depending on their interests. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Kiribati politics, and acronyms as well.
The official name of the country is:
| Republic of Kiribati |
Administrative districts
The state is divided into three administrative districts:
Gilbert Islands
Line Islands
Phoenix Islands.
Additionally there are six districts:
Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa
There are also 21 island administrations on each of the inhabited islands:
Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina.
National anthem
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the national anthem of Kiribati is Teirake Kaini Kiribati.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Kiribati.
The original text is
| Teirake kaini Kiribati,Anene ma te kakatonga,
Tauraoi nakon te nwioko, Ma ni buokia aomata. Tauaninne n te raoiroi, Tangiria aoma ta nako. Tauaninne n te raoiroi, Tangiria aomata.Reken te kabaia ma te rau Ibuakoia kaain abara Bon reken abara Bon reken Te nano ae banin Ma te itangitangiri naba. Ma ni wakina te kab’aia, Ma n neboa abara. Ma ni wakina te kab’aia, Ma n neboa abara. Ti butiko ngkoe Atuara Kawakinira ao kairika Nakon taai aika i maira. Buokira ni baim ae akoi. Kakabaia ara Tautaeka Ma ake a makuri iai. Kakabaia ara Tautaeka Ma aomata ni bane. |
English translation
| Stand up Kiribati! Sing with joy!Prepare to take on your responsibility
and help each other! Be steadfast and sincere! Dear all of our citizens! Be steadfast and sincere! Dear all of our citizens!The achievement of contentment and peace among our citizens Will be achieved When all of our hearts beat as one. Love each other! Provides happiness and unity! Love each other. Provides happiness and unity! |
The English translation
| Stand up, Kiribati! Sing with jubilation!Prepare to accept responsibility
And to help each other! Be steadfastly righteous! Love all our people! Be steadfastly righteous! Love all our people!The attainment of contentment and peace by our people Will be achieved when all our hearts beat as one, Love one another! Promote happiness and unity! Love one another! Promote happiness and unity! |
Kiribati: Well-known people
- Maarten TroostTroost spent a number of years on Tarawa. His 2004 book “The Sex Lives of Cannibals” is a funny account of his time on Tarawa.
Kiribati: animals
Mammals
The presence of the endemic Polynesian rat suggests that the islands have a Polynesian history. There are also Christmas Island flying foxes on the eponymous island, as well as piped bats. In contrast, domestic and farm animals such as pigs and poultry were imported by Europeans.
Reptiles
On most of the atolls belonging to Kiribati there are several species of lizards, the yellow-brown scale finger gecko and some skin maps. Green turtles prefer to lay their eggs on the east coast of Christmas Island between November and December. The Hawksbill sea turtle is also found mainly on the same coast as the green turtle. The harmless and about 30 cm long hooded wolf snake is found on Christmas Island, where it was introduced in the early 1980s. Venomous snakes do not live here.
Birds
The birds are particularly rich in species on Christmas Island. Shearwaters, petrels and frigate birds, terns and the endemic Fanning warbler, which is otherwise only found on Fanning Island, live here.
The most common species of seabirds are the phoenix petrels, which have their world’s largest colony on Christmas Island, wedge-tailed and Christmas shearwaters, black-tailed frigate birds, spectacled terns, masked boobies with the characteristic black wing edges and the black face mask, and red-tailed tropic birds.
Insects, spiders
The coconut crabs, which are widespread on the islands and are now almost extinct, the largest living land crabs in the world, are one of the staple foods of the islanders. Like spiders, they belong to the arthropod tribe and are closely related to the hermit crabs. However, the coconut crab only has the protective snail shell around its abdomen when it is young and instead forms a chitin blanket with age. In this way, she can also reach the amazing height of 40 cm with a wingspan of 1 m.
Another name of the remarkable crab is palm thief, which stems from the fact that for a long time it was believed that the crabs climb on palm trees in order to snip the coconuts from them and then eat them on the ground. While it is true that they can actually climb the palm trees to eat the coconuts on top, it also happens that the fruit will fall off in the process. However, it is wrong to assume that the coconut crab climbed up with the intention of doing just that. Rather, it is coincidence in the sequence of events that has led to the widespread idea of a palm thief. In addition to coconuts, the menu of the mostly nocturnal coconut crab also includes fruits from other trees such as the pandanus tree.
The most common, but endemic to Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean, is the Christmas Island crab. Not only their bright red color is impressive, but also the size of the shell of about 11 to 12 cm. The crabs are threatened by the yellow spider ant, which was probably introduced from Africa. Their formic acid causes the crabs to go blind and, since a blind crab can no longer look for food, it ultimately starves to death.
But also for other species, such as the white-bellied frigate birds and the gray footed booby, the ants represent a serious danger because they kill their young.
Underwater world
Life under water is characterized by its abundance of fish and the great diversity of species. The waters around the Line and Phoenix island groups are particularly rich. Numerous species such as sailfish, which are considered the fastest fish in the oceans, thick-headed mackerel, grouper, the approximately 1 m large milkfish (Bangus) with the characteristic forked tail fin and yellow fin tuna live here. There are also numerous edible mussel species, sea urchins and octopods here.
And of course various species of whale and shark as well as dolphins live here.
Kiribati: plants
Trees
The most common tree found on all Kiribati atolls is the coconut tree. Breadfruit, pandanus and bottle trees are also numerous. Almost all tree species growing here are also used as crops.
Crops
The nutrient-poor soil and the irregular rainfall make the cultivation of crops difficult or almost impossible. The most important crops include the coconut tree, which grows everywhere, the pandanus trees, breadfruit trees and the babai, which is a type of taro.
Algae are grown on some of the atolls and play an important role in both the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Medicinal plants
In addition to anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, the Asian pennywort also has the ability to renew connective tissue. The extract, which is obtained from the leaves of the marsh plant, is often used, especially for skin problems.
The Phyllanthus from the milkweed family is a low-growing bush plant.
In addition to its urinary and choletic abilities, it should also help with jaundice and hepatitis.
Poisonous plants
The unripe fruits of the Smelly Passiflora (the leaves give off a very strong scent when rubbed) are poisonous, but can be eaten when ripe.
More plants
Bush and shrub vegetation predominate along the coast with shrubs such as the naupaka, a shrub with small, white flowers. Endemic (only occurring here) is the parasitic North American silk on Kiritimati, an atoll belonging to Kiribati, which is also known under the name “Christmas Island”.
It should be noted that many of the plants that are common in Kiribati today are not indigenous, but were once brought on ships.
