Postage stamps and postal history of Kiribati mark the independence of the country. Postage stamps and postal history of Kiribati This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Kiribati. The Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, and straddling the equator. Kiribati was formerly the Gilbert Islands, part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands which split into Kiribati and Tuvalu upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1978 and 1979. The first stamps of Kiribati were a pair
Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean ( or "Îles Éparses de l'océan Indien") consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) since February 2007. They have never had a permanent population. Two of the islands—Juan de Nova and Europa—and the Bassas da India atoll lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while a third island, Tromelin, lies about east of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands lies about northwest of Madagascar. Also