SMALLEST ISLAND

OFFICIAL NAME:Republic of Nauru

GeographyArea: 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.

PeopleNationality:

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%.

GovernmentType:

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.