| Background: |
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. Upon achieving
independence in 1968, Nauru became the smallest independent
republic in the world; it joined the UN in 1999. |
| Location: |
Oceania, island
in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
0 32 S, 166 55 E |
| Area: |
total:
21 sq km
land: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
about 0.1 times
the size of Washington, DC |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical;
monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) |
| Terrain: |
sandy beach rises
to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate
plateau in center |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau
rim 61 m |
| Natural
resources: |
phosphates |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
periodic droughts |
| Environment
- current issues: |
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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
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 |
| Population: |
12,088 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
40.33% (male 2,510; female 2,365)
15-64 years: 57.97% (male 3,475; female 3,533)
65 years and over: 1.7% (male 103; female 102)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
27.22
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
7.2 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
10.71
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 61.2 years
male: 57.7 years
female: 64.88 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.61 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Nauruan 58%,
other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
| Religions: |
Christian
(two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
| Languages: |
Nauruan
(official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English
widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
commercial purposes |
| Literacy: |
definition:
NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA% |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru
former: Pleasant Island |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Capital: |
no official
capital; government offices in Yaren District |
| Administrative
divisions: |
14 districts;
Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu,
Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
| Independence: |
31 January 1968
(from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN
trusteeship) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day,
31 January (1968) |
| Constitution: |
29 January 1968 |
| Legal
system: |
acts of the Nauru
Parliament and British common law |
| Suffrage: |
20 years of age;
universal and compulsory |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Bernard DOWIYOGO
(since 19 April 2000); 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 8 April 2000 (next to
be held NA 2003)
election results: Bernard DOWIYOGO elected
president by a vote in Parliament of nine to eight
note: former President Rene HARRIS was deposed
in a no-confidence vote; this is the eighth change of
government in Nauru since the fall of the Lagumont HARRIS
government in a no-confidence motion in early November 1996;
six of the last eight governments have resulted because of
parliamentary no-confidence motions |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000 (next to be
held NA April 2003)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats
- independents 18 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
loose multiparty
system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party
(informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP, AsDB, C,
ESCAP, ICAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC,
ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
Nauru does not
have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800
2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017;
telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US does not
have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is
accredited to Nauru |
| Flag
description: |
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 |
| Economy
- overview: |
Revenues of this
tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but
reserves are expected to be exhausted within five to ten
years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as
demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal
cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making
it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have
given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the
Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities
being imported, including fresh water from Australia. 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 have been
invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and
provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been
borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal
deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a
freezing of wages, a reduction of over-staffed public
service departments, privatization of numerous government
agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent
years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore
banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have
been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive
statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of
Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $59 million (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
NA% |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
-3.6% (1993) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
employed in
mining phosphates, public administration, education, and
transportation |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (FY95/96) |
| Industries: |
phosphate mining,
financial services, coconut products |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
30 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
27.9 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
coconuts |
| Exports: |
$25.3 million
(f.o.b., 1991) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
phosphates |
| Exports
- partners: |
Australia, NZ |
| Imports: |
$21.1 million
(c.i.f., 1991) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food, fuel,
manufactures, building materials, machinery |
| Imports
- partners: |
Australia, UK,
NZ, Japan |
| Debt
- external: |
$33.3 million |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$2.25 million
from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
| Currency: |
Australian dollar
(AUD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Australian
dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173
(2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773
(1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 July - 30 June |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
2,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
450 (1994) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: adequate local and international
radiotelephone communications provided via Australian
facilities
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 0,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.nr |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
5 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the
island to processing facilities on the southwest coast |
| Highways: |
total:
30 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.) |
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
no regular armed
forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 3,018 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 1,661 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Military
- note: |
Nauru maintains
no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is
the responsibility of Australia |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
