The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as 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, Whaling ; 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
13,528 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410) ; 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) ; 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.)
total: 21 years ; male: 20.4 years ; female: 21.5 years (2007 est.)
1.781% (2007 est.)
24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female ; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 63.44 years ; male: 59.85 years ; female: 67.21 years (2007 est.)
3.02 children born/woman (2007 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 ; local long form: Republic of Nauru ; local short form: Nauru ; former: Pleasant Island
republic
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District ; time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government ; head of government: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - President Ludwig SCOTTY defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 19 December 2007 ; 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 19 December 2007 (next to be held in 2010) ; election results: NA
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) ; elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) ; election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected
Supreme Court
Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system
NA
ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
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
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





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 (1992)
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%
30 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
27.9 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
1,050 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
1,023 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$64,000 f.o.b. (2005 est.)
phosphates
South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006)
$20 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)
South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006)


$33.3 million (2002)



Australian dollar (AUD)
AUD
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
1 July - 30 June
$20 million mostly from Australia (2005)
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
53 (2007)
1 (2000)
300 (2002)

1 (2007)
total: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)




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


Nauru

no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2007)

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


NA
Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia
none



