---
title: "Kiribati — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Kiribati: capital South Tarawa, area 811 km², population 136,488 (2025), currency Australian dollar. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/kiribati/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Kiribati

**Kiribati: Capital South Tarawa**

811 km² · 136,488 people (2025) · Australian dollar

Kiribati straddles both the equator and the date line and spreads across 3.5 million km² of ocean — an exclusive economic zone larger than India — while its 33 atolls total only about 811 km² of land. It is the only country in all four hemispheres. Its clock offsets run to UTC+14, the earliest in the world, so it is the first place to see each new year.

## The facts

- **Capital:** South Tarawa
- **Area:** 811 km² — 313 sq mi
- **Population:** 136,488 (2025)
- **Density:** 168.3 people per km²
- **Currency:** Australian dollar (AUD, $)
- **Official languages:** English, Gilbertese
- **Time zones:** UTC+12:00, UTC+13:00, UTC+14:00
- **Calling code:** +686
- **Drives on the:** left
- **ISO codes:** KI · KIR
- **Continent:** Oceania

## How it compares

- **By area:** 177 of 200
- **By population:** 182 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hong Kong | 1,108 | 7,498,900 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 964 | 240,254 |
| Kiribati ← | 811 | 136,488 |
| Bahrain | 760 | 1,600,366 |
| Dominica | 751 | 65,871 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Kiribati?

South Tarawa

### What currency does Kiribati use?

The Australian dollar (AUD).

### How big is Kiribati?

811 km², or 313 square miles — 177 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Kiribati drive on?

The left.

## Related pages

- [Hong Kong](https://atoneplace.net/country/hong-kong/)
- [São Tomé and Príncipe](https://atoneplace.net/country/sao-tome-and-principe/)
- [Bahrain](https://atoneplace.net/country/bahrain/)
- [Dominica](https://atoneplace.net/country/dominica/)
- [Australia](https://atoneplace.net/country/australia/)
- [Papua New Guinea](https://atoneplace.net/country/papua-new-guinea/)
- [New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/)
- [Fiji](https://atoneplace.net/country/fiji/)
- [Solomon Islands](https://atoneplace.net/country/solomon-islands/)
- [Vanuatu](https://atoneplace.net/country/vanuatu/)
- [Samoa](https://atoneplace.net/country/samoa/)
- [Micronesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/micronesia/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]