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
Pacific Islands of Taiwan and other islands of the Republic of China; the Philippines; islands in the South China Sea, which includes the disputed South China Sea Islands; most of the islands of Indonesia; and the island nation of Japan, which comprises the Japanese Archipelago. This list includes all islands found in the geographic Pacific Ocean, with an area larger than 10,000 square kilometers. Pacific Islands The Pacific Islands are the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Three major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean are Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Depending on the context, "Pacific Islands" may refer to countries and islands