page_title: South Tarawa
section_title: Land availability and overcrowding
hierarchical_section_title: South Tarawa / Environment / Land availability and overcrowding
caption_attribution_description: Tarawa, Kiribati
context_page_description: South Tarawa is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki and Tanaea in the north-east, connected by the South Tarawa main road, with a population of 56,388 as of 2015.
  South Tarawa is home to most of the government, commercial and education facilities in Kiribati including the Port and the High Court at Betio, the State House, Government Ministries and foreign embassies and High Commissions in Bairiki, a University of the South Pacific campus in Teaoraereke, the House of Assembly in Ambo, the Kiribati Teacher College and King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School, the Government High School, is in Bikenibeu, and the Tungaru central hospital in Nawerewere. The Roman Catholic Diocese is based in Teaoraereke, the Kiribati Uniting Church in Antebuka, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Kiribati in Bikenibeu, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eita.
context_section_description: The land area of South Tarawa is officially recorded as 3,896 acres (1,577 ha) or 15.76 square km.
  Much of this land is not available for use, including the water reserve and runway, the causeways, and a large area of reclaimed land at Temwaiku, the eastern corner of the atoll, which is too swampy and low-lying. If these areas are excluded, the land area of South Tarawa is only just over 1,000 hectares (10 square km or 2,500 acres) and the population density of 49 people per hectare or 4,905 per square km is almost equal to the density of London (5,100 people per km²) and twice the density of Sydney, Auckland, or New York.
  Multi-storey buildings are very uncommon on South Tarawa. The high population is accommodated through large household sizes, with an average of 7.3 people per household, on small land plots. Most land is owned by the original families or kain Tarawa, although in the main centres of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu there are large areas of land on long-term lease to the government. Without access to family lands or government housing, many South Tarawa residents have no choice but to become squatters; disputes over land are common.
  South Tarawa and especially Betio have high rates of respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and dysentery, all of which have been linked to overcrowding. Unsustainable development in South Tarawa is a concern to the government and to Kiribati's aid partners. Anote Tong's administration aims to ease the problem in the country's main urban centre by encouraging people to stay and to resettle in outer islands. It has invested in facilities such as the South Kiribati Hospital to spread institutions and services out around the islands and relieve South Tarawa from overcrowding.
  Reasons land not available for use:
  Bonriki; Water reserve, airport
  Temwaiku; Reclamation and fish ponds
  Eita/Taborio; Abairarang (scout) Is. Abaokoro (Guide) Is. and Taborio Causeway
  Teaoraereke; Causeway
  Naanekai-Bairiki causeway, Bairiki wharf and jetty
  Betio; Sandspit, wharves, jetties
caption: Tarawa
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