Kiribati

The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892 and a colony in 1915; they were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific War in 1941. The islands of Makin and Tarawa were the sites of major US amphibious victories over entrenched Japanese garrisons in 1943. The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Kiribati dollar (ISO code: AUD)
* This country does not seem to have a central bank.
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Kiribati: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05. 	70.596	66.772	62.344	72.463	90.459	99.483	105.603	106.890	136.571	136.564
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Kiribati: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Kiribati: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Kiribati: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Kiribati on Wikipedia
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries