Editing Gilbertese language (section)

==Speakers==
Over 96% of the 119,000 people living in [[Kiribati]] declare themselves [[I-Kiribati]]<ref name=census>{{cite web |title=Kiribati Census Report 2010 Volume 1 |url=http://www.mfed.gov.ki/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Census-Report-2010-Volume-1.pdf |publisher=National Statistics Office, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Government of Kiribati |access-date=17 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930092440/http://www.mfed.gov.ki/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Census-Report-2010-Volume-1.pdf |archive-date=30 September 2013 }}</ref> and speak Gilbertese. Gilbertese is also spoken by most inhabitants of [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]] ([[Tuvalu]]), [[Rabi Island]] ([[Fiji]]), and some other islands where I-Kiribati have been relocated ([[Solomon Islands]], notably [[Choiseul Province]]; and [[Vanuatu]]), after the [[Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_phoenix/|title=Kiribati - Phoenix Settlement|website=www.janeresture.com}}</ref> or emigrated (to [[New Zealand]] and [[Hawaii]] mainly).

97% of those living in Kiribati are able to read in Gilbertese, and 80% are able to read [[English language|English]].<ref name="census"/> It is one of the Oceanic languages. The largest individual Oceanic languages are [[Fijian language|Eastern Fijian]] with over 600,000 speakers, and [[Samoan language|Samoan]] with an estimated 400,000 speakers. The Gilbertese, [[Tongan language|Tongan]], [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]], [[Māori language|Māori]], [[Western Fijian language|Western Fijian]] and [[Tolai language|Tolai]] ([[Gazelle Peninsula]]) languages each have over 100,000 speakers.

In 2020 [[Manurewa|Finlayson Park School]] in [[Auckland]] became the first school in [[New Zealand]] to set up a Gilbertese language unit, where [[Erika Taeang]] was employed as the teacher.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-08|title=Auckland school establishes Kiribati language unit {{!}} RNZ|website=[[Radio New Zealand]]|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018736350/auckland-school-establishes-kiribati-language-unit|access-date=2021-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008144520/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018736350/auckland-school-establishes-kiribati-language-unit|archive-date=2021-10-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-08|title=Kiribati / Pacific languages / Home - Pasifika|url=https://pasifika.tki.org.nz/Pacific-languages/Kiribati|access-date=2021-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008144858/https://pasifika.tki.org.nz/Pacific-languages/Kiribati|archive-date=2021-10-08}}</ref>

=== Countries by number of Gilbertese speakers ===
# [[Kiribati]], 103,000 (2010 census)<ref name=e25/>
# [[Fiji]], 6,600 (2019)<ref name=e25/>
# [[Solomon Islands]], 6,800 (2012)<ref name=e25/>
# [[New Zealand]], 2,196 (2018 New Zealand census)<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2020 |title=2018 Census Totals by Topic – National Highlights (Updated) |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights-updated |access-date=23 November 2023 |publisher=[[Statistics New Zealand]]}}</ref>
# [[Nauru]], 1,500, then 500 cited 2011<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spc.int/nmdi/nmdi_documents/2011_NAURU_CENSUS_REPORT.pdf|title = PDH.stat: Development indicator database &#124; Statistics for Development Division}}</ref>
# [[Tuvalu]], 100 (2002)<ref name=e25/>
# [[Vanuatu]], 400{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
# [[Hawaii]], 141 (2010 US census)