NAURU
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 21 km2; land area: 21 km2
Comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
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
Natural resources: phosphates
Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
Environment: only 53 km south of Equator
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
PEOPLE
Population: 9,333 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 41 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 69 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Nauruan(s); adjective--Nauruan
Ethnic divisions: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese
8%, European 8%
Religion: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman
Catholic)
Language: Nauruan, a distinct Pacific Island language (official);
English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
commercial purposes
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force: NA
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Nauru
Type: republic
Capital: no capital city as such; 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 UN trusteeship under Australia,
New Zealand, and UK); formerly Pleasant Island
Constitution: 29 January 1968
Legal system: own Acts of Parliament and British common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Bernard DOWIYOGO
(since 12 December 1989)
Political parties and leaders: none
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 20
Elections:
President--last held 9 December 1989 (next to be held December
1992);
results--Bernard DOWIYOGO elected by Parliament;
Parliament--last held on 9 December 1989 (next to be held
December 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(18 total) independents 18
Member of: C (special), ESCAP, ICAO, INTERPOL, ITU, SPC, SPF, UPU
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Theodore
Conrad MOSES resident in Melbourne (Australia); there is a Nauruan
Consulate in Agana (Guam);
US--the US Ambassador to Australia is accredited to Nauru
Flag: 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 come from the export of phosphates, the reserves
of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000. Phosphates have
given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third
World--$10,000 annually. Few other resources exist so
most necessities must be imported, including fresh water from
Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income
from phosphates constitute serious long-term problems. Substantial
investment in trust funds, out of phosphate income, will help cushion the
transition.
GNP: over $90 million, per capita $10,000; real growth rate NA%
(1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues $69.7 million; expenditures $51.5 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY86 est.)
Exports: $93 million (f.o.b., 1984);
commodities--phosphates;
partners--Australia, NZ
Imports: $73 million (c.i.f., 1984);
commodities--food, fuel, manufactures, building materials,
machinery;
partners--Australia, UK, NZ, Japan
External debt: $33.3 million
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 14,000 kW capacity; 50 million kWh produced,
5,430 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: phosphate mining, financial services, coconuts
Agriculture: negligible; almost completely dependent on imports for
food and water
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries (1970-1988), $2 million
Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2834 (January
1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905
(1986), 1.4269 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 3.9 km; used to haul phosphates from the center of the
island to processing facilities on the southwest coast
Highways: about 27 km total; 21 km paved, 6 km improved earth
Ports: Nauru
Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,261
GRT/39,838 DWT; includes 1 passenger-cargo, 2 bulk
Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft, one on order
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate intraisland and international radio
communications provided via Australian facilities; 1,600 telephones;
4,000 radios; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru
Police Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service
Defense expenditures: no formal defense structure