| Introduction | The island was annexed by Germany in 1888. 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 independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
| Population | Population: 14,000 Population growth rate: 0.594% Life expectancy: 64.99 years |
| Geography | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific (the others are Banaba in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia). Nauru's terrain consists of a sandy beach rising to a fertile ring around raised coral reefs with a phosphate plateau in the centre. There is a small lagoon, the Buada Lagoon. Nauru's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends over more than 320,000km. The interior plateau, which comprises about 60% of the land area, has been extensively mined for phosphates, leaving a jagged and pitted landscape. The climate is tropical with occasional cyclones and a rainy season from November to February. Daytime temperatures range from 80-98F. There is 80% humidity and about 80 inches of rain per year. Vegetation consists mainly of coconut palms, some hardwoods, scrubwood and some vegetable production, and is limited to the coastal plain. Some secondary scrub is also found on the mined plateau. Bird life has been reduced by the mining. Frigate birds are traditionally hunted and tamed. |
| Religion | Nauru Congregational 35.4%, Roman Catholic 33.2%, Nauru Independent Church 10.4%, other 14.1%, none 4.5%, unspecified 2.4% (2002 census) |
| Government | Government type: Republic 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) Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of parliament (For more information visit the World Leaders website) Elections: president elected by parliament for a three-year term; election last held on 1 November 2010 (next to be held in 2013) Election results: Marcus STEPHEN reelected in a parliamentary vote of 11 to 6. http://www.paclii.org/nr/government.html |
| Economics | GDP (purchasing power parity) $60 million |
| Health | Health facilities on Nauru are very limited, and there is little in the way of statistics on the Millennium Development Goals indicators. Life expectancy at birth for males is 59 and women 64 years. Healthty life expectancy at birth for males is 53 and females 57 years (2003). Total expenditure on health per capita $803 USD Total expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP is 10.8% (2006) Source: World Health Organisation. Nauru currently has no identified cases of HIV or AIDS. Historically it has had two cases of HIV infected people; both over ten years ago. |
| Legislation | http://www.paclii.org/databases.html#NR |
| Related Websites |
The World Factbook - Nauru European Union - Nauru page UNICEF - Nauru World Health Organization - Nauru |