Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic.

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands

0 32 S, 166 55 E

Oceania

total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km

about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

30 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)

sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m

phosphates, fish

arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2005)

NA

periodic droughts

limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator

13,287 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 36.9% (male 2,507/female 2,391)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,004/female 4,123)
65 years and over: 2% (male 139/female 123) (2006 est.)

total: 20.6 years
male: 20 years
female: 21.2 years (2006 est.)

1.81% (2006 est.)

24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 9.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 63.08 years
male: 59.5 years
female: 66.84 years (2006 est.)

3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)

NA

NA

NA

noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan

Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%

Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)

Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes

definition: NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA

conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru
former: Pleasant Island

republic

no official capital; government offices in Yaren District

14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren

31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)

Independence Day, 31 January (1968)

29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day)

acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

20 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president

unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15

Supreme Court

loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party

NA

ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017
telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074
FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079
consulate(s): Agana (Guam)

the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru

blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru

Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely.

$60 million (2005 est.)

NA

NA%

$5,000 (2005 est.)

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation

90% (2004 est.)

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

-3.6% (1993)

revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005)

coconuts

phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products

NA%

23 million kWh (2003)

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

21.39 million kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

1,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

NA bbl/day

NA bbl/day

0 cu m (2003 est.)

0 cu m (2003 est.)

$64,000 f.o.b. (2005 est.)

phosphates

South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004)

$20 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery

Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004)

$33.3 million (2002)

mostly from Australia

Australian dollar (AUD)

AUD

Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)

1 July - 30 June

1,900 (2002)

1,500 (2002)

general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA
international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

7,000 (1997)

1 (1997)

500 (1997)

.nr

52 (2005)

1 (2000)

300 (2002)

1 (2005)

total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)

total: 30 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.)

Nauru

no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force

males age 18-49: 2,874 (2005 est.)

NA

NA

Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia

none