20 facts about Kiribati, the true Land of the Rising Sun
We are used to calling Japan “the land of the rising sun, ” but technically this is a lie, as the first nation to see dawn is Kiribati, an archipelago with 33 atolls and islands in the middle of the ocean. Pacific. So much of the land is scattered that 3.5 million square kilometers of land are at sea. Check out other curious facts about this country:
1. Kiribati is located in Oceania and has an estimated population of 115, 000.
2. The Gilbert Islands, which are part of Kiribati, had been inhabited for about 5, 000 years.
3. The official languages of the country are Gilbertese and English.
4. The official currency there is the Australian dollar.
5. Only 21 of the 33 islands that make up the country are inhabited
6. The country's capital is an island called South Tarawa, located about halfway between Australia and Hawaii.
7. The first contact with western peoples must have happened in the 16th century, through Spanish navigators.
8. Most of the population is Christian
9. The country's main source of economy is tourism, which accounts for 20% of its GDP - because of this it is one of the poorest countries in the world with approximately 170 million GDP, the second worst in the world.
10. Still, Kiribati is the least visited country in the world, having received a mere 6, 000 visitors in 2014.
11. In the human development ranking, Kiribati ranks 137th with an HDI of 0.588
12. Kiribati is the only nation in the world to be in the four hemispheres of the world: north, south, east and west.
13. The highest point in the country is only 81 meters high
14. In 1999, two islands submerged because of rising sea levels. Kiribati is one of the most threatened nations due to climate change on the planet, and may even disappear in the next 50 years!
15. In anticipation of a collapse, Kirabati bought 6, 000 acres of land in Fiji if its entire population needs to be relocated.
16. Family farming and fishing are the main livelihoods of the country's population.
17. The country's time zone is 14 hours ahead of UTC, the former Greenwich Mean Time - this is the world's earliest time zone.
18. The Line Islands are located geographically south of Hawaii and technically should have the same time as the North American archipelago, but as the International Date Line is zigzag, the difference between one location and another is almost 24 hours - a whole day!
19. Kiribati is currently the first country to host the New Year, followed by Tonga, Samoa and Tokelau.
20. Those born there are called Kiribati or more popularly Kiribas.
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