Kiribati’s natural resources are mainly marine, as befits an atoll nation in the central Pacific. They include 543 fish species and 79 bird species, while forest covers only 1.46% of the territory and there are almost no native amphibians. What natural resources does Kiribati have?
Kiribati is an island nation in the central Pacific with a rich diversity of natural resources. These include a wide variety of marine species, while arable land is scarce, covering only about 2.5% of the country’s land area (World Bank, 2023).
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These natural resources of Kiribati are vital to the economy and to the livelihoods of the local population.
Which natural resources matter in Kiribati? What is its natural wealth? Does it have mineral resources, and how does it rank globally? How is its land used, and how committed is the country to preserving its biological diversity?
Natural resources
Natural resources are materials or energy sources provided by or found on Earth that are useful to humans. Every product we manufacture is made up of natural resources.
- Renewable resources: these can be restored by natural processes faster than the rate at which they are consumed. Examples include solar radiation, wind, hydroelectric power, water when used properly, and plant and animal life.
- Non-renewable resources: once extracted, these are depleted and cannot regenerate. Examples include hydrocarbons, metals and minerals.
Examples of Kiribati’s main natural resources
Kiribati’s natural economy
How much natural resource rents weigh in the economy, and the state of the land that produces them.
| Natural resource rents | 0.0% of GDP2021 |
|---|---|
| Capture fisheries | 278,509 t per year2024 |
| Forest cover | 1.5% of land area2023 |
| Agricultural land | 42.0% of land area2023 |
Forest resources of Kiribati
Kiribati is an island country in the central Pacific. Although its forest area is limited, at only 1.46% of its land area, it is an important resource for the economy and for people’s livelihoods.
Environmental performance and protection of Kiribati’s natural resources
Natural resources are very important in Kiribati, a Pacific island country. In the Environmental Performance Index (EPI 2024), Kiribati scored 44.3 and ranked 96th. Terrestrial and marine protected areas make up 11.82% of the country’s total territorial area.
Natural parks of Kiribati: the hidden wealth of natural resources
Biodiversity: animal and plant resources of Kiribati
Birds of Kiribati
Kiribati has a rich diversity of birds, with a total of 79 bird species. It also has 2 endemic bird species.
However, it also faces the threat of extinction for 6 bird species. A standout species is the frigatebird.
Fish and amphibians of Kiribati
Kiribati has rich marine biodiversity, with a total of 543 fish species, which ranks it 113th in the world for number of fish species. However, 14 of these fish species are threatened.
Because it is made up of coral atolls, Kiribati has virtually no native amphibians.
Organizations that protect or study Kiribati’s natural resources
- Tourism Authority of Kiribati – Promotes sustainable tourism and the conservation of natural resources.
- Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) – Helps Kiribati address environmental and climate challenges.
- Pacific Climate Change Portal – SPREP’s hub of climate change information and tools for Pacific island countries, including Kiribati.
- Sea Education Association – Conducts scientific research and environmental education in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiribati.
- Greenpeace – Campaigns to protect the oceans and biodiversity around the world, including in Kiribati.
Kiribati manages one of the largest exclusive economic zones on the planet: about 3.5 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, a marine domain that dwarfs its tiny land area. Selling access rights to these tuna waters to foreign fleets provided about 70% of the country’s fiscal revenue in 2020, according to the Kiribati Ministry of Finance (Ministry of Finance, 2020).
Tuna: the resource that props up the budget
Kiribati’s waters are among the most productive tuna fishing grounds in the western and central Pacific. Revenue from fishing licenses and transshipment fees rose from $25.1 million in 2007 to $121.8 million in 2016, and in that year Kiribati accounted for 28.4% of the region’s tuna catch by volume, the largest share among the Pacific island countries (World Bank, 2020).
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)
At 408,250 km², the Phoenix Islands Protected Area is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 (Wikipedia, citing Rotjan 2014, 2014). Closing the area to commercial fishing meant estimated revenue losses of $60 million to $140 million in the following years, a sign of the underlying tension between conservation and public finances in a country that depends on tuna (Ministry of Finance, 2020).
Banaba’s depleted phosphate
Kiribati’s mineral wealth belongs to the past: Banaba Island was mined for phosphate from 1900 to 1979, first by the Pacific Phosphate Company and then by the British Phosphate Commissioners, until the deposit was exhausted. Mining stripped away about 90% of the island’s surface, leaving much of it uninhabitable (Wikipedia, citing The Phosphateers 1985, 1985).
Sources used
- Lists of countries by mineral production – Wikipedia
- Forest area (km²) – World Bank
- Forest area (% of land area) – World Bank
- Water and agriculture statistics – FAO
- Precipitation (mm) – World Bank
- Environmental Performance Index – Environmental Performance Index
- Bird species – Mongabay
- Amphibian species by country – Mongabay
- Mammal species – Mongabay
- Endemic mammal species – Our World in Data
- Plant species – Mongabay
- Reptile species by country – Mongabay
- Endemic bird species by country – Our World in Data
According to the UN Systematic Observations Financing Facility (2025), Kiribati is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with islands lying less than two meters above sea level.
Last updated: September 26, 2026
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