Kiribati National Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Kiribati

Kiribati National Day is a yearly public holiday celebrated on July 12th. This day commemorates Kiribati’s independence from the United Kingdom. During Independence Week, the government determines the dates for a number of other public holidays, including Gospel Day, National Culture Day, and Senior Citizens’ Day. The largest celebration in the capital of South Tarawa is held at the Bairiki National Stadium. The celebration includes colourful parades, traditional performances, canoe races, kite-flying, and other sporting events.

The background of Kiribati National Day

Kiribati is located in the centre of the Pacific Ocean and is a part of the island group known as Micronesia. Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands, and Line Islands comprise 33 coral islands. The majority are atolls or ring-shaped islands with central lagoons, with the exception of the raised limestone island of Banana in the Gilbert Islands. Only 21 islands are inhabited, with the majority of inhabitants residing in the Gilbert Islands.

The islands were colonised by Europeans almost by accident. Several Europeans arrived there by chance as merchants or castaways. It was named after Thomas Gilbert, a British naval commander who discovered the islands in 1788 while sailing from Australia to China. In 1892, Britain proclaimed a protectorate over what is now known as Tuvalu and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. With the discovery of phosphate resources, they also annexed Ocean Island, now called Banaba. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was established in 1916, and over the next two decades, the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands were added.

In 1971, Banaban residents filed a lawsuit against the British government to seek compensation for environmental damage caused by phosphate extraction and the recovery of lost phosphate export revenues. Soon thereafter, in 1975, they demanded independence, but the British government denied. The Ellice Islands became a part of Tuvalu after separating from the colony. In 1977, the Gilbert Islands were eventually able to establish internal self-government.

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5 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT KIRIBATI

Its islands are dispersed and located on both sides of the equator, in the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as along the Prime Meridian, which divides the globe’s eastern and western hemispheres.

As a result of coastal erosion, inundation, and rising sea levels, it is a daily struggle to acquire water.

At GMT+14, this island nation is the most advanced from Greenwich mean time.

The British government detonated a series of hydrogen weapons in the vicinity of Christmas Island, which is now known as Kirimati and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.

A rise in sea level caused by global warming threatens to submerge it entirely within the next fifty years.

KIRIBATI NATIONAL DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	July 12	Wednesday
2024	July 12	Friday
2025	July 12	Saturday
2026	July 12	Sunday
2027	July 12	Monday