KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI.

Islands of Kiribati.
Map pf Teraina Island.
First stamp in a set of 4, issued on 14.02.1984.
Face value: 12 cents of Kiribati dollar.
Printing: Offset lithography.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 435.
- Scott No. 436.
- StampWorld No. 114.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 215.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 114.

Republic of Kiribati (in Gilbertese, Ribaberiki Kiribati) is an independent island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. It comprises 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba. Its total land area is 811 km² (313 sq mi) and the islands are dispersed over 3.5 million km² (1.4 million sq mi) on both sides of the equator. The permanent population is over 119,000 (2020). Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom on July 12, 1979. The capital, South Tarawa, is the most populated area in the country and consists of several islets, connected by a long road. Kiribati is a member of the Pacific Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Alliance of Small Island States, and a full member of the United Nations since 1999. Before its independence it was called the Gilbert Islands, in honor of Thomas Gilbert, who sighted some of the islands in 1788.

Teraina (or Teeraina, also known as Washington Island) is a coral atoll, part of the Line Islands, in Kiribati. Obsolete names of Teraina are New Marquesas, Prospect Island, and New York Island. Measuring about 5.4 by 2.1 km (3.4 by 1.3 mi), it has a land area of 9.55 km² (3.69 sq mi) and its circumference is about 15 km (9 mi). Teraina differs from other atolls in that it has a large freshwater lake (Washington Lake). There are about 1,712 inhabitants (2015), and its largest settlement is Tangkore.