Explore 70 facts from the supplied Kiribati research. References and qualifications accompany each fact.
perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 years ago · Heritage
Settled for millennia, shaped by many arrivals.
Did you know that Wikipedia says the Gilbert Islands may have been inhabited for three or four millennia, and that later Samoan and Tongan invasions added Polynesian elements, while Fijian invasions added Melanesian ones, to I-Kiribati society.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
around the 16th century · Heritage
Nikunau helped shape the meeting house.
Did you know that Wikipedia says Nikunau has been inhabited for at least 2,000 years, and that around the 16th century the island was important to the development of the mwaneaba, the I-Kiribati meeting house system.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
8 July 1606 · Exploration
Spanish sailors named two atolls Good Voyage.
Did you know that in 1606 the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernandes de Queiros sighted Butaritari and Makin, and named them the Buen Viaje Islands, a Spanish name meaning the Good Voyage Islands.
2 July 1765 · Exploration
A British commodore's name briefly marked Nikunau.
Did you know that Wikipedia records 2 July 1765 as the day Commodore John Byron and the crew of HMS Dolphin became the first recorded British visitors to Nikunau, which European maps then called Byron Island for a while.
24 December 1777 · Exploration
Cook found Christmas Island on Christmas Eve.
Did you know that on Christmas Eve 1777 Captain James Cook sighted and anchored at the island now called Kiritimati during his third voyage.
1788 and 1820 · Naming
The islands carry a captain who never landed.
Did you know that Thomas Gilbert and John Marshall passed close to several of the islands in 1788 without landing, and that in 1820 Adam Johann von Krusenstern named them the Gilbert Islands after Gilbert.
11 and 12 June 1798 · Exploration
Fanning named one island for Washington.
Did you know that Edmund Fanning sighted Teraina on 12 June 1798 and named it Washington Island after George Washington, though he did not land, and that Tabuaeran, Fanning Island, was sighted a day earlier.
1825 to the 1860s · Economy
Whalers fished right on the equator.
Did you know that Wikipedia describes whaling at the equator, called On-the-Line, as common in the Gilbert Islands from 1825 into the 1860s, a trade that brought whalers, traders, and disease to the islands.
1825 · Archaeology
An empty island held Polynesian temples.
Did you know that when Europeans first found Malden Island in 1825 it had no inhabitants, yet archaeologists have catalogued 21 sites there, including temple platforms, house sites, and graves resembling pre-contact Tonga.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
1857 · Religion
A missionary gave Kiribati its first Bible.
Did you know that Hiram Bingham II, who reached the Gilbert Islands at the end of 1857, was the first to translate the Bible into Gilbertese and also wrote hymn books and dictionaries in the language.
1889 · Culture
Stevenson met the last tyrant of Abemama.
Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson's party spent about two months on Abemama in 1889, where he called the ruler Binoka, also known as Tembinok', the last tyrant.
1890s · Society
Forced labour trade took 1,200 islanders to Central America.
Did you know that Wikipedia's Blackbirding article says about 1,200 Gilbert Islanders were recruited for coffee plantations in Mexico and Guatemala in three shiploads, and that only about 250 of them survived.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
27 May 1892 · Politics
One captain's declaration made a protectorate.
Did you know that on 27 May 1892 Captain Edward Davis of HMS Royalist declared the Gilbert Islands a British Protectorate, and that the neighbouring Ellice Islands became a protectorate later the same year.
1900 · Economy
A doorstop led to a phosphate rush.
Did you know that Albert Ellis, working in Sydney in 1900, noticed that a large rock from Nauru used as a doorstop was rich in phosphate, then visited Nauru and Banaba to confirm the deposits.
1900 onward · Economy
Mining rights were bought for 50 pounds a year.
Did you know that Wikipedia says the Banaban agreement gave the phosphate company exclusive mining rights for 999 years in return for a payment of 50 pounds a year, terms later changed to add royalties.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
1908 to 1942 · Economy
Banaba paid for half the colony's taxes.
Did you know that phosphate from Banaba reportedly provided about half of the Gilbert and Ellice colony's tax revenue, and that its headquarters sat on Ocean Island from 1908 until the British evacuation in 1942.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
September 1914 · War
A German cruiser cut the Fanning cable station.
Did you know that in September 1914 the German light cruiser SMS Nurnberg visited Fanning Island, and a landing force put the cable station out of action, leaving it severely damaged.
12 January 1916 · Politics
A protectorate became a Crown colony in 1916.
Did you know that the Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown colony on 12 January 1916, after more than two decades as a protectorate, and that Ocean Island was added to the colony the same year.
May 1937 · Heritage
A colonial officer's badge became a national flag.
Did you know that Arthur Grimble, the colonial officer and author of A Pattern of Islands, designed the colony's coat of arms granted in May 1937, whose badge design was later retained for the flag of Kiribati.
8 June 1937 · Science
An eclipse expedition triggered a sovereignty dispute.
Did you know that on 8 June 1937 a National Geographic Society expedition watched a total solar eclipse from Kanton, and that the American party claimed the island for the United States, causing a standoff with a British warship.
2 July 1937 · Mystery
One reef is a suspect in a famous mystery.
Did you know that according to TIGHAR, a research group, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on Nikumaroro after the 1937 disappearance, though no conclusive evidence has been found and the official finding is that the plane crashed at sea.
20 December 1938 · Society
Families were moved to a remote Phoenix atoll.
Did you know that in December 1938 British officials brought 20 Gilbertese settlers to Nikumaroro under the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme, and that by June 1939 the island had 58 I-Kiribati residents, 26 of them children.
9 to 10 December 1941 · War
Japan took the Gilberts within days of Pearl Harbor.
Did you know that Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands on 9 and 10 December 1941, landing troops on Tarawa and Makin only days after Pearl Harbor, as part of a plan to protect Japan's southeastern flank.
17 to 18 August 1942 · War
A daring raid left nine Marines behind.
Did you know that Carlson's 2nd Raider Battalion raided Makin on 17 and 18 August 1942 using two submarines, and that nine Marines left behind were captured and later executed on Kwajalein Atoll.
20 to 23 November 1943 · War
A tiny island saw 76 hours of battle.
Did you know that Betio, where the Battle of Tarawa was fought, covers only about 118 hectares, roughly 290 acres, and that the fighting from 20 to 23 November 1943 lasted around 76 hours.
20 November 1943 · War
The tide failed the landing craft.
Did you know that planners expected about five feet of water over the reef at Tarawa, but the tide failed to rise as planned, leaving about three feet, too shallow for the Higgins boats, which have a four foot draft.
November 1943 · War
Almost no defenders survived Betio.
Did you know that Wikipedia says that of the 3,636 Japanese garrison members on Betio only one officer and sixteen enlisted men survived, as did 129 of about 1,200 Korean labourers, though figures vary between sources.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
21 November 1943 · War
A submarine supported the Abemama landing.
Did you know that on 21 November 1943 the submarine USS Nautilus landed 78 US Marine scouts on Abemama, who defeated the Japanese garrison there with fire support from the submarine itself.
20 August 1945 · War
One survivor remembered the Banaba massacre.
Did you know that on 20 August 1945 Japanese troops on Banaba killed all but one of roughly 200 remaining Banabans, and that Kabunare Koura, the lone survivor, later became the key witness to the massacre.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
15 December 1945 · Society
Banabans left their island for Fiji.
Did you know that on 15 December 1945 the first group of 703 Banabans, including 318 children, arrived on Rabi Island in Fiji aboard the vessel Triona, beginning a resettlement that left Banaba almost empty.
1956 · Economy
Phosphate money built a national savings fund.
Did you know that phosphate earnings funded a sovereign wealth fund set up in 1956, which later became the Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund that Wikipedia lists at about US$400 million in 2008.
8 November 1957 · Science
Britain tested a hydrogen bomb off Kiritimati.
Did you know that Grapple X, on 8 November 1957, was the first British hydrogen bomb dropped off Kiritimati's southern tip, with a yield of 1.8 megatonnes that damaged buildings and helicopters on the island.
25 April to 11 July 1962 · Science
Kiritimati hosted US nuclear tests in 1962.
Did you know that in 1962 the United States used Kiritimati for Operation Dominic, and Wikipedia says islanders were usually not evacuated for the tests, while the health effects remain disputed.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
July to September 1974 · Politics
A clear vote split the colony in two.
Did you know that in the 1974 referendum on whether the Ellice Islands should separate, 3,799 Ellice Islanders voted for separation and 293 voted against, with 40 spoilt papers.
1 October 1975 · Politics
The colony split and Tuvalu emerged.
Did you know that the Ellice Islands became a separate British dependency on 1 October 1975, with the separation completed on 1 January 1976, and that the Ellice Islands later became Tuvalu.
1977 · Law
Banabans lost a landmark court case.
Did you know that in Tito v Waddell (No 2) in 1977, the English High Court held that no fiduciary duties were owed over phosphate mining on Banaba, and that damages for failing to replant would be only nominal.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
1978 to 1979 · Politics
A young Chief Minister became first President.
Did you know that Ieremia Tabai was elected Chief Minister in February or March 1978 at roughly the age of 27 or 28 and, on 12 July 1979, became the first President of independent Kiribati.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
12 July 1979 · Politics
The frigatebird flag first flew on 12 July 1979.
Did you know that Kiribati became independent on 12 July 1979, and the flag, with its gold frigatebird over a rising sun, was first raised at the independence celebrations in Tarawa on that day.
1979 · Politics
The US gave up claims to 14 islands.
Did you know that under the 1979 Treaty of Tarawa the United States gave up its claims to 14 Line and Phoenix islands, though Baker and Howland remain US territories and are not part of Kiribati.
1979 to 1981 · Economy
The phosphate ran out and incomes halved.
Did you know that Wikipedia says phosphate deposits on Banaba were exhausted in 1979, after which per capita GDP in Kiribati more than halved between 1979 and 1981.
1989 to 2020 · Society
Kiritimati's population more than tripled.
Did you know that Kiritimati's population was only about 2,000 in 1989 but reached 7,369 at the 2020 census, as people moved there from the more crowded atolls of the Gilbert Islands.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
31 December 1994 · Science
Kiribati skipped a whole Saturday.
Did you know that on 31 December 1994 Kiribati removed a day from its calendar, going from Friday 30 December straight to Sunday 1 January 1995, so that the International Date Line no longer split the country.
August 1997 and 1 January 2000 · Science
A tiny atoll chased the first sunrise of 2000.
Did you know that in August 1997 Kiribati renamed Caroline Island as Millennium Island, which at about 5:43 a.m. on 1 January 2000 became the first land to see the new year's sunrise, a claim other nations disputed.
1999 · Environment
Two islets vanished beneath the waves in 1999.
Did you know that the uninhabited islets Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea disappeared beneath the sea in 1999, an event that Wikipedia lists among the signs of Kiribati's vulnerability to sea-level rise.
January 2008 · Environment
Kiribati protected a vast ocean reserve.
Did you know that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area was created in January 2008 and, covering 408,250 square kilometres, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
June 2008 · Environment
A president warned of a point of no return.
Did you know that in June 2008 President Anote Tong said Kiribati had reached the point of no return, and that in April 2013 he began urging citizens to migrate elsewhere.
2014 · Environment
Kiribati bought land in Fiji as a refuge.
Did you know that in 2014 Kiribati bought about 20 square kilometres of land on Vanua Levu in Fiji, a purchase President Anote Tong described as an absolute necessity if the islands were ever submerged.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
2014 and 2016 · Sport
A weightlifter danced for his country's survival.
Did you know that weightlifter David Katoatau won gold in 2014 in Glasgow, Kiribati's first Commonwealth Games medal, and later danced at the 2016 Rio Olympics to draw attention to climate change.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
2003 and September 2019 · Politics
Kiribati changed its China recognition twice.
Did you know that Kiribati established ties with Taiwan in November 2003, and that in September 2019 President Taneti Maamau switched recognition to Beijing, after which 13 MPs left his party in protest.
March 2019 · War
Betio still gives up its wartime dead.
Did you know that the remains of 30 US soldiers and Marines were discovered on Betio in March 2019, and that unexploded shells from the Battle of Tarawa are still scattered across the island and its reef.
9 July 2022 · Politics
Kiribati left the Pacific Forum and returned.
Did you know that Kiribati withdrew from the Pacific Islands Forum on 9 July 2022 during a dispute over leadership, and rejoined on 24 February 2023 after an official apology from the Forum chair.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
25 October 2024 · Politics
Maamau won again in October 2024.
Did you know that in the 25 October 2024 election Taneti Maamau won 55.05 percent of the vote against Kaotitaake Kokoria's 42.03 percent, and was sworn in for another term on 1 November 2024.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Language
The name is pronounced Kiribass.
Did you know that Kiribati is pronounced Kiribass, because the letters ti in Gilbertese are sounded like an s, and that the name is the local adaptation of the European name Gilberts.
Timeless · Geography
The country sits in all four hemispheres.
Did you know that Wikipedia says the islands of Kiribati straddle both the equator and the 180th meridian, so the country spans the northern, southern, eastern, and western hemispheres.
Timeless · Geography
Tiny land, huge ocean.
Did you know that Kiribati has 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba, of which 21 are inhabited, with about 811 square kilometres of land scattered across roughly 3.4 million square kilometres of ocean.
Timeless · Geography
Kiritimati is the biggest coral atoll.
Did you know that Kiritimati, with about 312 square kilometres of land, is often cited as the world's largest atoll by land area, though Wikipedia notes that Lifou and Rennell are larger but lack lagoons.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Geography
Here, the new year arrives first.
Did you know that Kiritimati keeps the world's most advanced time zone, UTC+14, so it is among the first inhabited places to see New Year's Day, and lies about 232 kilometres north of the equator.
Timeless · Nature
A remote reserve shelters 800 species.
Did you know that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area holds about 800 known species, including roughly 200 coral species and 500 fish species, and at least 14 seamounts thought to be extinct volcanoes.
Timeless · Heritage
The meeting house is the heart of every village.
Did you know that a maneaba is called the heart of any Kiribati community, built with coral slabs, a coconut wood roof tied with coconut string and thatched with pandanus, and that parliament is called the Maneaba ni Maungatabu.
Timeless · Language
Gilbertese has only 13 letters.
Did you know that the Gilbertese alphabet has just 13 base letters, with no C or D, that the letter B stands for a p sound, and that the usual word order is verb, object, subject.
Timeless · Heritage
Warriors wore coconut and fought with shark teeth.
Did you know that Wikipedia describes traditional I-Kiribati duels fought in armour of thickly woven coconut fibre, with helmets made from blowfish remains and swords with serrated edges set with shark teeth.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Culture
Dancers move like frigatebirds, without smiling.
Did you know that Kiribati dance stresses outstretched arms and sudden bird-like head movements, which the frigatebird on the national flag refers to, and that smiling while dancing is considered inappropriate.
Timeless · Heritage
Seventeen rays count the islands.
Did you know that the sun on the Kiribati flag has 17 rays, which represent the 16 Gilbert Islands and Banaba, while three white wavy stripes stand for the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line Islands.
Timeless · Society
Betio is packed with 11,300 people per km2.
Did you know that Betio, the largest township of South Tarawa, had a population of 17,356 in 2015 on just 1.54 square kilometres, a density of about 11,300 people per square kilometre.
Timeless · Geography
Tarawa's highest point is three metres.
Did you know that Tarawa atoll has a land area of about 31 square kilometres, a highest point of just 3 metres above sea level, and a lagoon of about 500 square kilometres that is open to the ocean.
Timeless · Geography
The highest point is also the most scarred.
Did you know that Banaba, the westernmost point of Kiribati, rises 81 metres, the country's highest point, yet phosphate mining reportedly stripped away 90 per cent of its surface between 1900 and 1979.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Environment
Kiribati may be the first country to vanish.
Did you know that Wikipedia says Kiribati is expected to be the first country to lose all its land territory to climate change, with the IPCC projecting about 50 centimetres of sea-level rise by 2100.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Nature
One island holds the nation's only freshwater lake.
Did you know that Teraina has Washington Lake, described by Wikipedia as the only permanent freshwater lake in the whole of Kiribati, hidden within a coconut palm forest.
Research confidence: medium; the supplied research identifies partial support.
Timeless · Heritage
One Phoenix island still has people.
Did you know that Kanton is the only inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, with 41 residents in 2020, and that it once hosted a Pan Am flying boat stop and a Mercury programme tracking station.
Timeless · Myth
A broken tree scattered a people.
Did you know that in I-Kiribati tradition a sacred tree in Samoa called Kai-n-Tiku-Aba was broken by Koura-Abi, after which, as one retelling puts it, the people of Samoa scattered across the world.