Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands

Geographic coordinates: 0 32 S, 166 55 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 30 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing 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: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other : 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater; phosphate mining threatens limited remaining land resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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: 12,329 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years:39.6% (male 2,515; female 2,366)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 3,578; female 3,656)
65 years and over:1.7% (male 108; female 106) (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.96% (2002 est.)
under 15 years : 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population : 61.57 years
male: 58.05 years
female: 65.26 years (2002 est.)

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: NA

Country name:
conventional long form : Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru
former: Pleasant Island

Data code: NR

Government type: republic

National 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-, New Zealand-, 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 Rene HARRIS (since 30 March 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government : PresidentRene HARRIS (since 30 March 2001); 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 NA March 2001 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results : Rene HARRIS elected president; percent of Parliamentary vote - NA%

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]

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, ICAO, 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 a few 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 freeze on 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 - $60 million (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services : NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: -3.6% (1993)

Labor force:
by occupation : employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation

Unemployment rate: 0%

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 - capacity: 13,250 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 30 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita:27.9 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: coconuts predominate

Exports:
total value: $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities: phosphates
partners : NZ, Australia, South Korea, US (2000)

Imports:
total value: $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
partners: Australia, US, UK, Indonesia, India (2000)

Debt - external: $33.3 million

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)

Currency: 1 Australian dollar (AUD)= 100 cents

Exchange rates: AAustralian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Telephones: 2,000 (1996)

Telephone system: 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)

Radios: 7,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)

Televisions: 500 (1997)

Railways:
total: 5 km
note: gauge unknown; used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast (2001)

Highways:
total:30 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.)

Ports and harbors: Nauru

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 1(2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)

Military branches: no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49 : 3,103 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 1,710 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Disputes - international: none