The Republic of Kiribati (pronounced Kiri-bahs) stretches nearly 4,000 km east to west and just over 2,000 km north to south, but many people have never heard of this country because its land area comprises only 810 sq km. Kiribati is an island nation, located right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator. It is made up of 33 coral atolls, has a population of 90,000 people, and despite having empty sandy beaches and warm water all year round, is visited by almost no tourists (there are only two flights a week into Kiribati, so it is not an easy or cheap place to get to). The west of Kiribati comprises the Gilbert Islands, which include its administrative centre of Tarawa; in the middle are the Phoenix Islands (sparsely inhabited); and in the east are the Line Islands which includes Christmas Island (not to be confused with the Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean). These photographs were all taken on Tarawa.