Nauru Country Facts

 

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs                                      
October 2007                                                                  
                                                                       
  Background Note: Nauru                                                      
                                                      
  Local men watch as an Australian navy                                       
  ship passes near the Nauru coast,                                           
  September 18, 2001. [© AP Images]                                           
                                                                       
  Flag of Nauru is 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.
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of Nauru                                                           
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 21 sq. km.                                                            
  Cities: Capital--no official capital; government offices in Yaren District. 
  Terrain: Rough beach rises to a fertile but narrow ring around a raised,    
  prehistoric coral reef plateau, studded with coral pinnacles exposed by     
  phosphate mining.                                                           
  Climate: Equatorial; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February);        
  unreliable rainfall and prone to El Nino-linked droughts.                   
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Nauruan(s).                                
  Population (2006): 9,275.                                                   
  Age structure: 38.2% below 14; 1.9% over 65.                                
  Annual growth rate (1992-2002): 2.5%.                                       
  Ethnic groups: Nauruan 95%, Chinese 3%, other Pacific Islander 1%, European 
  1%.                                                                         
  Religions: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic).     
  Languages: Nauruan, English.                                                
  Education (2004): Literacy--97%.                                            
  Health (2002): Life expectancy (2004 est.) women 56.9 yrs.; men 49.0 yrs.;  
  Infant mortality rate--10.14/1,000.                                         
  Work force (2004 est.): 4,300.                                              
  Unemployment (2004 est.): 50%.                                              
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Republic.                                                             
  Constitution: 1968.                                                         
  Independence: January 31, 1968.                                             
  Branches: Executive--president and cabinet. Legislative--unicameral         
  Parliament. Judicial--Supreme Court, Appellate Court, District Court, and   
  Family Court.                                                               
  Administrative subdivisions: 14 districts.                                  
  Political party: Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party.                            
  Central government budget (2006/2007 est.): $17.6 million.                  
  Suffrage: Universal at age 20.                                              
                                                                       
  Economy (all figures in U.S. $)                                             
  GDP (2005/2006 est.): $25.2 million.                                        
  Per capita GDP (2005/2006 est.): $2,739.                                    
  Avg. inflation rate (2005 est.): -3-4%.                                     
  Industry: Types--phosphate mining.                                          
  Trade: Exports (2004 est.)--$640,000; phosphates. Major export              
  markets--Japan. Imports (2004 est.)--$19.8 million; food, fuel, manufactures.
  Major import sources--Australia.                                            
  Currency: Australian dollar (A$).                                           
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY                                                                   
  Nauru is a small oval-shaped island in the western Pacific Ocean, located   
  just 42 kilometers (26 mi.) south of the Equator. It is one of three great  
  phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean--the others are Banaba (Ocean   
  Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia. Until recently Nauru's 
  phosphate reserves were thought to be nearly depleted, but there are some   
  indications that the potential for continued productive mining might exist. 
  Phosphate mining in the central plateau has left a barren terrain of jagged,
  prehistoric coral pinnacles, up to 15 meters (49 ft.) high. A century of    
  mining has stripped and devastated four-fifths of the total land area.      
  Efforts to rehabilitate the mined-out areas have been unsuccessful.         
                                                                       
  The island is surrounded by a coral reef, exposed at low tide and dotted with
  pinnacles. The reef is bounded seaward by deep water, inside by a narrow    
  sandy beach. A 150-300-meter (492-984 ft.) wide fertile coastal strip lies  
  landward from the coast, ending in forested coral cliffs that rise to the now
  mined-out central plateau. The highest point of the plateau is 65 meters (213
  ft.) above sea level. The island's only fertile areas are within the narrow 
  coastal belt, where there are coconut palms, pandanus trees, and indigenous 
  hardwoods, and the land surrounding the inland Buada lagoon on the central  
  plateau, where bananas, pineapples, and some vegetables are grown. Some     
  secondary vegetation has begun to cover the scarred central plateau and its 
  coral pinnacles.                                                            
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  Nauruans descended from Polynesian and Micronesian seafarers. Grouped in    
  clans or tribes, early Nauruans traced their descent on the female side. They
  believed in a female deity, Eijebong, and a spirit land, also an island,    
  called Buitani. Two of the 12 original tribal groups became extinct during  
  the 20th century. Because of poor diet, alcohol abuse, and a sedentary      
  lifestyle, Nauru has one of the world's highest levels of diabetes, renal   
  failure and heart disease, exceeding 40% of the population.                 
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  Nauru had little contact with Europeans until whaling ships and other traders
  began to visit in the 1830s. The introduction of firearms and alcohol       
  destroyed the peaceful coexistence of the 12 tribes living on the island. A 
  10-year internal war began in 1878 and resulted in a reduction of the       
  population from 1,400 (1843) to around 900 (1888).                          
                                                                       
  The island was allocated to Germany under the 1886 Anglo-German Convention. 
  Phosphate was discovered a decade later and the Pacific Phosphate Company   
  started to exploit the reserves in 1906, by agreement with Germany. Following
  the outbreak of World War I, Australian forces captured the island in 1914. 
  After the war, the League of Nations assigned a joint trustee mandate over  
  the island to Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. The three governments    
  established the British Phosphate Commissioners, who exercised the rights to
  phosphate mining.                                                           
                                                                       
  During World War II Japan occupied Nauru in August 1942 and deported 1,200  
  Nauruans to work as laborers in the Caroline Islands, where 463 died. The   
  survivors returned to Nauru in January 1946.                                
                                                                       
  After the war the island became a UN Trust Territory under Australia, in line
  with the previous League of Nations mandate, and it remained one until it   
  became an independent republic in 1968. A plan by the partner governments to
  resettle the Nauruans (due to dwindling phosphate reserves and damage to the
  island from extensive mining) on Curtis Island off the north coast of       
  Queensland, Australia, was abandoned in 1964 when the islanders decided not 
  to move. In 1967, the Nauruans purchased the assets of the British Phosphate
  Commissioners, and in June 1970 control passed to the Nauru Phosphate       
  Corporation.                                                                
                                                                       
  In 1989 Nauru filed suit against Australia in the International Court of    
  Justice in The Hague for damages caused by mining while the island was under
  Australian jurisdiction. Australia settled the case out of court in 1993,   
  agreeing to pay a lump sum settlement of A$107 million (U.S.$85.6 million)  
  and an annual stipend of the equivalent of A$2.5 million in 1993 dollars    
  toward environmental rehabilitation.                                        
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT                                                                  
  The country is governed by a unicameral Parliament consisting of 18 members 
  elected at least triennially from 8 constituencies. Parliament elects the   
  president, who is both chief of state and head of government, from among its
  members. The president appoints a cabinet from among members of Parliament. 
                                                                       
  For its size, Nauru has a complex legal system. The Supreme Court, headed by
  the Chief Justice of Nauru, is paramount on constitutional issues, but other
  cases can be appealed to the two-judge Appellate Court. Parliament cannot   
  overturn court decisions, but Appellate Court rulings can be appealed to    
  Australia's High Court; in practice, however, this rarely happens. Lower    
  courts consist of the District Court and the Family Court, both of which are
  headed by a Resident Magistrate, who also is the Registrar of the Supreme   
  Court. Finally, there also are two quasi-courts--the Public Service Appeal  
  Board and the Police Service Board--both of which are presided over by the  
  Chief Justice.                                                              
                                                                       
  There is a small police force of 109 members under civilian control. There  
  are no armed forces.                                                        
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  President--Ludwig Scotty                                                    
  Foreign Minister--David Adeang                                              
  Ambassador to the United Nations--Marlene Moses                             
                                                                       
  Nauru does not currently have an embassy in the United States but does have a
  UN Mission at 800 2nd Ave, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017 (tel:       
  212-937-0074, fax: 212-937-0079).                                           
                                                                       
  POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                                        
  In recent decades, as turmoil grew over Nauru's uncertain future and economic
  failures, no-confidence votes that spurred changes of government became     
  commonplace. In 1997 Nauru had four different presidents in as many months. 
  However, with the election of Ludwig Scotty in October 2004 and the naming of
  a reform-minded government, the pattern has stopped.                        
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Having once boasted the second highest per capita GDP in the world thanks to
  its fabled phosphate mines, Nauru is today destitute. With the seeming      
  depletion of readily accessible phosphate reserves in 2000, mining on a     
  large-scale commercial basis ended. The decline of mining saw a dramatic    
  economic contraction, compounded by past government corruption and disastrous
  mismanagement of trust funds that had been expected to provide post-mining  
  revenue streams for Nauru's citizens. Since 2000, Nauru has relied largely on
  payments for fishing rights within its exclusive economic zone, earnings from
  hosting two Australian refugee processing camps, and massive injections of  
  grants and development funding, principally from Australia, New Zealand,    
  Japan, China and more recently Taiwan. In 2006, following rehabilitation of 
  its industrial plant and marine loading infrastructure, the government-owned
  mining company, the Republic of Nauru Phosphate Company or RONPhos, resumed 
  mining with the aim of exploiting the remaining harder-to-access phosphate. 
                                                                       
  Although Nauru had a nominal per capita GDP in excess of $2,700, its economy
  is in deep crisis, and the resumption of mining promises only a limited     
  respite as the country seeks to find a sustainable economic future. The     
  private sector is very small and employs less than 300. Currently, all public
  servants (even government ministers) and employees of state-owned enterprises
  receive bi-weekly payments from government of just A$140 (about U.S. $118) in
  lieu of their established salaries. Nauru imports well over 90 percent of its
  foodstuffs and other basic goods, but sea and air transport has become      
  problematic. In December 2005, the national airline's remaining airplane was
  repossessed for non-payment, leaving Nauru dependent on chartered flights. In
  September 2006, with financing help from Taiwan, a replacement aircraft     
  re-established scheduled commercial flights to Nauru and around the region  
  under the new name of Our Airline. The provision of electricity and water,  
  both dependent on expensive imported fuel, is limited and sporadic. With the
  help of the Pacific Islands Forum and numerous development partner nations, 
  Nauru has embarked on a major, multi-year strategic national development    
  program to achieve a sustainable economic framework for the country.        
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Following independence in 1968, Nauru joined the Commonwealth as a Special  
  Member. Special Members take part in all Commonwealth activities except heads
  of government meetings. They are not assessed but make voluntary            
  contributions toward the running of the Secretariat. They are eligible for  
  all forms of technical assistance.                                          
                                                                       
  Nauru was admitted to the United Nations in 1999. It is a member of the     
  Pacific Islands Forum, the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme,  
  the South Pacific Commission, and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience      
  Commission.                                                                 
                                                                       
  In 2001 at Australia's request, Nauru became host to approximately 1,200    
  asylum seekers, mostly Afghan, who were intercepted while attempting to enter
  Australia illegally. By mid-2006, only a single Iraqi refugee remained on the
  island, having been assessed by Australia as a security risk and thus       
  ineligible to enter Australia. In September 2006, Australia effectively     
  re-opened the center by transferring seven Burmese asylum seekers there for 
  assessment. In exchange for housing the refugees while their asylum         
  applications were adjudicated, Australia has provided Nauru with extensive  
  grants and aid. In March 2007, Australia transferred 82 Sri Lankan refugees 
  to the processing center in Nauru, which had been significantly upgraded in 
  the preceding months.                                                       
                                                                       
  During 2002 Nauru severed diplomatic recognition with Taiwan and signed an  
  agreement to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of   
  China. This move followed China's promise to provide more than U.S. $130    
  million in aid. However, in May 2005, Nauru re-established diplomatic ties  
  with Taiwan, ending its relationship with China. Taiwan remains one of only 
  two countries, the other being Australia, with a diplomatic mission on Nauru.
  In March 2007, Nauru established an embassy in Taipei.                      
                                                                       
  U.S.-NAURU RELATIONS                                                        
  Relations between the United States and Nauru are cordial. The U.S. has no  
  consular or diplomatic offices in Nauru. Officers of the American Embassy in
  Suva, Fiji, are concurrently accredited to Nauru and make periodic visits.  
                                                                       
  Trade between the United States and Nauru is limited by the latter's small  
  size and economic problems. The value of two-way trade in 2005 was $1.6     
  million.                                                                    
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Larry M. Dinger                                                 
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Ted A. Mann                                        
  Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Brian J. Siler                       
  Consul--Debra J. Towry                                                      
  Management Officer--Ila S. Jurisson                                         
  Regional Environmental Officer--Joseph P. Murphy                            
  Regional Security Officer--Jim T. Suor                                      
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy at Suva, Fiji, also accredited to Nauru, is located at 31  
  Loftus Street, Suva (tel: 679-331-4466; fax 679-330-2267). The mailing      
  address is U.S. Embassy, P.O. Box 218, Suva, Fiji.                          
                                                                       
  TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION                                             
  The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans
  traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public   
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  terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that  
  pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings
  are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel 
  to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.        
                                                                       
  For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad  
  should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet
  web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution,
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  Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a
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  additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/     
  Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.                                  
                                                                       
  The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing   
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  toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.           
                                                                       
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  Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for 
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  (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the
  most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements,
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  booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS         
  publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government       
  Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.                 
                                                                       
  Further Electronic Information                                              
  Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://          
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  working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov                      
                                                                       
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