page_title: Kiribati
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Kiribati / Demographics / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: St Paul's Millenium Church, Betio, Kiribati
context_page_description: Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an independent country in the central Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 110,000, more than half of whom live on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba. They have a total land area of 811 square kilometres and are dispersed over 3.5 million km².
  Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes round Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching the 150° W meridian. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14. Kiribati is one of the few countries in the world to be situated in all four hemispheres.
  Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign state in 1979. The capital, South Tarawa, now the most populated area, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways. These comprise about half the area of Tarawa atoll.
context_section_description: Christianity is the major religion in Kiribati, having been introduced by missionaries in the 19th century. The population is predominantly Catholic (57.3%), with Protestant denominations (Kiribati Protestant Church, then Kiribati Uniting Church) accounting for 31.3%. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (5.3%), Baháʼí Faith (2.1%), Seventh-day Adventist Church (1.9%), Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others small faiths account all for less than 10% (2015 census).
caption: Catholic Church in Betio
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