Kiribati, whose full name is the Republic of Kiribati, is located in the central Pacific Ocean, with a total area of 726 square kilometers, divided into three administrative districts without administrative functions; the population in 2020 is 125,000, and Micronesians account for more than 90%. Kiribati is the same size as Pingdingshan County, with a population of one-quarter of Pingdingshan City, and in terms of area and population, Kiribati is only equivalent to one county on the mainland.
Most Micronesians were taller with light brown skin. The ancestors of the Micronesians migrated from Southeast Asia 4,000 years ago, and some Melanesians and Polynesians moved in.
(1) The only country in the world that crosses the equator and crosses the 180-degree line
The eastern and western hemispheres are not divided by longitudes of 0 degrees and 180 degrees, but by longitudes 20 degrees west and 160 degrees east longitude, east of 20 degrees west longitude, 160 degrees east longitude of east longitude as the eastern hemisphere, east of 160 degrees east longitude, and west of 20 degrees west longitude as the western hemisphere. Located between 170 degrees east longitude and 150 degrees west longitude, Kiribati is a country in the Western Hemisphere. It can be said that Kiribati spans the northern and southern hemispheres, but it cannot be said that Kiribati spans the eastern and western hemispheres, and some self-media authors say that Kiribati spans four hemispheres is a misinformation.
(2) The first country in the world to start a "new day"
Kiribati spans 3,870 km from east to west, with the Gilbert Islands west of the 180 degree meridian and the Phoenix And Lane Islands east of the 180 degree meridian. According to the theoretical time zone division, the timing of the two places will be one day apart. In order to avoid the inconvenience of a slight time difference, Kiribati has set the time zones of the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands as UTC+13 and UTC+14 respectively (protruding to the right in the image above), so that they belong to the same day as the Gilbert Islands in the UTC+12 time zone, and the time is earlier. Hawaii, on the same longitude, is UTC-10, a day behind the Lane Islands. Because of this, the Lann Islands became the first place in the world to use UTC+14 time zones, making Kiribati the first country in the world to start a "new day".
(3) The most scattered country in the world
Kiribati spans 3,870 kilometers from east to west and 2,050 kilometers from north to south, with an exclusive economic zone of 3.44 million square kilometers, ranking 12th in the world, larger than China and India. The ratio of economic zones to land areas is more than 4,000, ranking fifth among 197 countries in the world, and one of the most dispersed countries in the world.
(4) The country that may have been the first to be submerged
Kiribati is low and flat, with an average elevation of only 2 metres. In recent years, the global climate has warmed and sea levels have risen, and several islands and reefs in Kiribati have been submerged by the sea. Experts predict that Kiribati will sink below the surface in 50-100 years. Kiribati is negotiating land purchases with Fiji, and once Kiribati is flooded by the sea, there will be places to relocate the country.
(5) The world's largest cloisterous coral island
The world's largest coral island, Christmas Island, is in Kiribati. Christmas Island has a total area of 600 square kilometers and a land area of 363 square kilometers, accounting for about half of Kiribati's land area. Captain Cook discovered the island on Christmas Eve in 1777 and was therefore named Christmas Island. Christmas Island is also the only island in the world where you can live naked, attracting nearly a million visitors every year. There is also a Christmas Island in the south of Java, geographically belonging to Asia, which is an overseas territory of Australia; this Christmas Island is predominantly Chinese, discovered by the Englishman Captain William Menas on Christmas Day in 1643, and the two Christmas islands are more than 7800 kilometers apart.
(6) Members of the Commonwealth
Kiribati is one of the 54 members of the Commonwealth, but is not a member of the Commonwealth Kingdom and therefore does not have the Queen of England as head of state. Kiribati is a republic that combines presidential and parliamentary systems, with the President acting as both head of State and Head of Government. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years, up to a maximum of three terms.
(7) Countries without troops
Kiribati has no army and only 300 police officers to maintain law and order. Kiribati owns a patrol boat, which is paid for by Australia to help patrol. As an archipelagic country "isolated overseas", it has neither resources nor poses a threat to other countries, so there will be no other countries that will travel thousands of miles to make trouble, and naturally there is no need for an army to fight against foreign enemies. Moreover, the cost of equipment for the navy and air force is too high, kiribati's economy is only enough to support one or two warships or one or two military aircraft, if the real enemy attacks, it will not play much role, anyway, Australia and New Zealand are responsible for national defense, why not enjoy it.
(8) Love the number "3"
The number "3" has a special meaning in Kiribati folk culture. Each traditional dance consists of three parts. When people speak at village meetings, the statements are divided into three parts. When an audience member expresses his appreciation for a dancer or performer, he will always clap three times, with a slight pause and three more claps.
(9) Polygamy
Kiribati practices polygamy, but the consent of previous generations is required before marrying a new person. There are also sisters who marry the same man, and the sister is married as a dowry for the sister, married to her brother-in-law.
(10) The economy depends on foreign aid
Kiribati is one of the world's least developed countries, and after the extraction of phosphate, the economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid, more than half of the population is engaged in coconut-related industries, and almost all basic foodstuffs need to be imported. In 2020, the total GDP is 190 million US dollars, foreign aid accounts for about 70%, and the per capita GDP is only 1640 US dollars, about one-sixth of the mainland's per capita GDP. In the United Nations Human Development Report 2019, Kiribati's Human Development Index ranked 134th among 189 countries.
#Kiribati#Polygamy ##太平洋岛国 #
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