Almost all Kiribati residents are Micronesians. They call themselves and their Austronesian language i-kiribati. English, the official language of the country, is widespread; about one third of the population is bilingual. Nine out of ten Kiribati live in the Tungaru (Gilbert Islands) archipelago, which covers one third of the land area.
Particularly densely populated is the southern part of the “metropolitan atoll” Tarawa, where half of the country’s over 110,000 residents live. Attempts have been made to get people to move to uninhabited islands, but more are instead drawn to Tarawa in search of livelihood.
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Key populations estimated size and data of Kiribati, including population density of how many people per square mile. Also included are facts for population and language.
Population growth is high and over a third of the population is children under 15 years. People over the age of 65 make up only 3.5 percent of the population.
The country’s name is pronounced “kiribas” and is a local interpretation of the British name on the islands, “Gilberts”. Kiritimati is a version of Christmas, English Christmas, when the island in question is also called Christmas Island.
FACTS – POPULATION AND LANGUAGE
Population
almost all residents are micronesia
Number of residents
116 398 (2017)
Number of residents per square kilometer
144 (2017)
Percentage of residents in the cities
53.3 percent (2017)
Nativity / birth
28.2 per 1000 residents (2016)
Mortality / mortality
7.0 per 1000 residents (2016)
POPULATION GROWTH
1.7 percent (2017)
fertility rate
3.7 number of births per woman (2016)
Percentage of women
50.7 percent (2017)
Life expectancy
66 years (2016)
Life expectancy for women
70 years (2016)
Life expectancy for men
63 years (2016)
Language
English is the official language, i-kiribati is widely spoken.