Kiribati gained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. It has a popularly elected president and a legislative assembly with 39 members elected by universal adult suffrage, and 2 who are members by virtue of their office. A police force of about 250 personnel is effectively controlled by civilian authority. Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The islands' isolation and meager resources, including poor soil and limited arable land, severely limit prospects for economic development.
Society is egalitarian, democratic, and respectful of human rights.
There were no reports of specific human rights abuses, but in the traditional culture women occupy a subordinate role with limited job opportunities. There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings. There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. Although torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are forbidden by the Constitution, corporal punishment is permitted under traditional mores for criminal acts and other transgressions. On some outer islands, the island councils occasionally order strokes with palm fronds to be administered for public drunkenness and other minor offenses such as petty thievery.