Kiribati is a country consisting of 33 atolls spreading across the North Pacific Ocean. The country won independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. Most of the atolls are very low-lying and at risk from rising sea levels, with many of them inhabited. Like other Pacific island countries, Kiribati is far from major markets, has few natural resources and a narrow economic base. Production and exports are limited to copra, fish and seaweed, and the economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity demand and prices.