Nauru

Location

• Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
• Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind the Holy See (Vatican City) and Monaco; it is the smallest country in the Pacific Ocean, the smallest country outside Europe, the world's smallest island country, and the world's smallest independent republic; situated just 53 km south of the equator, 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

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Yaren	1,100	Capital

Size

• 8 square miles
• 21 square kilometers
• about 0.1 times the size of Washington, D.C.

History

By 1000 B.C., Micronesian and Polynesian settlers inhabited Nauru, and the island was divided among 12 clans. Nauru developed in relative isolation because ocean currents made landfall on the island difficult. As a result, the Nauruan language does not clearly resemble any other in the Pacific region. In 1798, a British mariner was the first European to spot the island and by 1830, European whalers used Nauru as a supply stop, trading firearms for food. A civil war in 1878 reduced the population by more than a third. Germany forcibly annexed Nauru in 1888 by holding the 12 chiefs under house arrest until they consented to the annexation. Phosphate was discovered in 1900 and was heavily mined, although Nauru and Nauruans earned about one tenth of one percent of the profits from the phosphate deposits.Australian forces captured Nauru from Germany during World War I, and in 1919, it was placed under a joint Australian-British-New Zealand mandate with Australian administration. Japan occupied Nauru during World War II and used its residents as forced labor elsewhere in the Pacific while destroying much of the infrastructure on the island. After the war, Nauru became a UN trust territory under Australian administration. In 1962, recognizing the phosphate stocks would eventually be depleted, Australian Prime Minister Robert MENZIES offered to resettle all Nauruans on Curtis Island in Queensland, but Nauruans rejected that plan and opted for independence, which was achieved in 1968. In 1970, Nauru purchased the phosphate mining assets, and income from the mines made Nauruans among the richest people in the world. However, a series of unwise investments led to near bankruptcy by 2000. Widespread phosphate mining officially ceased in 2006. As its economy faltered, Nauru briefly tried to rebrand itself as an offshore banking haven, an initiative that ended in 2005, and the country made a successful bid for Russian humanitarian aid in 2008. In 2001, Australia set up the Nauru Regional Processing Center (NRPC), an offshore refugee detention facility, paying Nauru per person at the center. The NRPC closed in 2008 but reopened in 2012. The number of refugees steadily declined after 2014, and in 2020, the remaining people were moved to Brisbane, Australia, effectively shuttering the NRPC. However, in 2023, Australia agreed to continue funding NRPC for two years and restarted settling asylees in the center in mid-2023. The center remains the Government of Nauru’s largest source of income.

Climate

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

Terrain

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

Languages

Nauruan 93% (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English 2% (widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes), other 5% (includes Gilbertese 2% and Chinese 2%) (2011 est.)note: data represent main language spoken at home; Nauruan is spoken by 95% of the population, English by 66%, and other languages by 12%

Religions

Protestant 60.4% (Nauruan Congregational 34.7%, Assemblies of God 11.6%, Pacific Light House 6.3%, Nauru Independent 3.6%, Baptist 1.5, Seventh Day Adventist 1.3%, other Protestant 1.4%), Roman Catholic 33.9%, other 4.2%, none 1.3%, no answer 0.3% (2021 est.)

Government

parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: effective 29 January 1968amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament; amendments to constitutional articles, such as the republican form of government, protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, the structure and authorities of the executive and legislative branches, also require two-thirds majority of votes in a referendum
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and compulsory
• Legal System: mixed system of common law based on the English model and customary law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President David ADEANG (since 30 October 2023)head of government: President David ADEANG (since 30 October 2023)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of Parliamentelection/appointment process: president indirectly elected by Parliament for 3-year term (eligible for a second term)most recent election date: 30 October 2023election results: 2023: David ADEAGN elected president over Delvin THOMA, 10-82022: Russ KUN elected president unopposedexpected date of next election: 2026note: the president is both chief of state and head of government
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and several justices)judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president to serve until age 65subordinate courts: District Court, Family Courtnote: in 2017, the Nauruan Government revoked the 1976 High Court Appeals Act, which had allowed appeals beyond the Nauruan Supreme Court, and in 2018, the government formed its own appeals court
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Parliamentlegislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 19 (all directly elected)electoral system: plurality/majorityterm in office: 3 yearsmost recent election date: 9/24/2022percentage of women in chamber: 10.5%expected date of next election: September 2025

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• upper-middle-income Pacific island country; phosphate resource exhaustion made island interior uninhabitable; licenses fishing rights; houses Australia’s Regional Processing Centre; former tax haven; largely dependent on foreign subsidies
• Budget: revenues: $199.74 million (2020 est.)expenditures: $157.86 million (2020 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: phosphates, fish
• Industries: phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
• Agricultural Products: coconuts, tropical fruits, pork, eggs, pork offal, pork fat, chicken, papayas, vegetables, cabbages (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 20% (2022 est.)arable land: 0% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 20% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)forest: 0% (2022 est.)other: 80% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: ships, titanium ore, refined petroleum, plastic products, other foods (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: Australia 50%, Japan 11%, Fiji 9%, Senegal 9%, China 9% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: fish, phosphates (2023)note: top export commodities based on value in dollars over $500,000
• Export Partners: Thailand 78%, Philippines 11%, NZ 5%, Japan 1%, Canada 1% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports