Nauru

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By 1000 B.C., Micronesian and Polynesian settlers inhabited Nauru, and the island was divided among 12 clans. Nauru developed in relative isolation because ocean currents made landfall on the island difficult. As a result, the Nauruan language does not clearly resemble any other in the Pacific region. In 1798, a British mariner was the first European to spot the island and by 1830, European whalers used Nauru as a supply stop, trading firearms for food. A civil war in 1878 reduced the population by more than a third. Germany forcibly annexed Nauru in 1888 by holding the 12 chiefs under house arrest until they consented to the annexation. Phosphate was discovered in 1900 and was heavily mined, although Nauru and Nauruans earned about one tenth of one percent of the profits from the phosphate deposits.<br><br>Australian forces captured Nauru from Germany during World War I, and in 1919, it was placed under a joint Australian-British-New Zealand mandate with Australian administration. Japan occupied Nauru during World War II and used its residents as forced labor elsewhere in the Pacific while destroying much of the infrastructure on the island. After the war, Nauru became a UN trust territory under Australian administration. In 1962, recognizing the phosphate stocks would eventually be depleted, Australian Prime Minister Robert MENZIES offered to resettle all Nauruans on Curtis Island in Queensland, but Nauruans rejected that plan and opted for independence, which was achieved in 1968. In 1970, Nauru purchased the phosphate mining assets, and income from the mines made Nauruans among the richest people in the world. However, a series of unwise investments led to near bankruptcy by 2000. Widespread phosphate mining officially ceased in 2006. <br><br>As its economy faltered, Nauru briefly tried to rebrand itself as an offshore banking haven, an initiative that ended in 2005, and the country made a successful bid for Russian humanitarian aid in 2008. In 2001, Australia set up the Nauru Regional Processing Center (NRPC), an offshore refugee detention facility, paying Nauru per person at the center. The NRPC closed in 2008 but reopened in 2012. The number of refugees steadily declined after 2014, and in 2020, the remaining people were moved to Brisbane, Australia, effectively shuttering the NRPC. However, in 2023, Australia agreed to continue funding NRPC for two years and restarted settling asylees in the center in mid-2023. The center remains the Government of Nauru’s largest source of income.

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

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0 32 S, 166 55 E

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Oceania

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about 0.1 times the size of Washington, D.C.

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30 km

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tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)

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sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center

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phosphates, fish

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0 sq km (2022)

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most people live in the fertile coastal areas, especially along the southwest coast

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periodic droughts

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Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind the Holy See (Vatican City) and Monaco; it is the smallest country in the Pacific Ocean, the smallest country outside Europe, the world's smallest island country, and the world's smallest independent republic; situated just 53 km south of the equator, 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

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Nauruan 94.6%, I-Kiribati 2.2%, Fijian 1.3%, other 1.9% (2021 est.)

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Nauruan 93% (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English 2% (widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes), other 5% (includes Gilbertese 2% and Chinese 2%) (2011 est.)

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<strong>note:</strong> data represent main language spoken at home; Nauruan is spoken by 95% of the population, English by 66%, and other languages by 12%

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Protestant 60.4% (Nauruan Congregational 34.7%, Assemblies of God 11.6%, Pacific Light House 6.3%, Nauru Independent 3.6%, Baptist 1.5, Seventh Day Adventist 1.3%, other Protestant 1.4%), Roman Catholic 33.9%, other 4.2%, none 1.3%, no answer 0.3% (2021 est.)

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0.37% (2025 est.)

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19.64 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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6.55 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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-9.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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most people live in the fertile coastal areas, especially along the southwest coast

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273 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

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2.52 children born/woman (2025 est.)

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1.24 (2025 est.)

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1.27 physicians/1,000 population (2015)

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61% (2016)

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3.8% (2023 est.)

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57.7% (2021 est.)

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limited natural freshwater resources; effects of intensive phosphate mining that left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland; air and water pollution from cadmium residue, phosphate dust, and other contaminants; rising sea levels

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tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)

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7.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

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10 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

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parliamentary republic

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14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baitsi, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren

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mixed system of common law based on the English model and customary law

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has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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20 years of age; universal and compulsory

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<strong>note:</strong> the president is both chief of state and head of government

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<strong>note:</strong> in 2017, the Nauruan Government revoked the 1976 High Court Appeals Act, which had allowed appeals beyond the Nauruan Supreme Court, and in 2018, the government formed its own appeals court

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Nauru does not have formal political parties; alliances within the government are often formed based on extended family ties

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ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICCt, IFAD, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

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31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)

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Independence Day, 31 January (1968)

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<strong>description:</strong> blue with a narrow horizontal gold stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the left side<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> blue stands for the Pacific Ocean; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the equator (the gold stripe), and the 12 points stand for the original tribes of Nauru; the star's white color represents phosphate, the basis of the island's wealth

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frigatebird, calophyllum flower

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blue, yellow, white

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upper-middle-income Pacific island country; phosphate resource exhaustion made island interior uninhabitable; licenses fishing rights; houses Australia&rsquo;s Regional Processing Centre; former tax haven; largely dependent on foreign subsidies

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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$160.351 million (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

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<strong>note:</strong> annual % change based on consumer prices

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coconuts, tropical fruits, pork, eggs, pork offal, pork fat, chicken, papayas, vegetables, cabbages (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

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phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products

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<b>note:</b> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

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<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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44.4% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

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<b>note:</b> central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

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Thailand 78%, Philippines 11%, NZ 5%, Japan 1%, Canada 1% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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fish, phosphates (2023)

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<strong>note:</strong> top export commodities based on value in dollars over $500,000

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

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Australia 50%, Japan 11%, Fiji 9%, Senegal 9%, China 9% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

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ships, titanium ore, refined petroleum, plastic products, other foods (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

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1 state-owned TV station broadcasting programs from New Zealand; 1 state-owned radio station, broadcasting on AM and FM, uses Australian and British programs (2019)

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.nr

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C2

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1 (2025)

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no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force

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under the terms of a security deal signed in December 2024, Australia and Nauru agreed to “deepen and expand security cooperation” and “consult and consider” in the event of threats; Nauru pledged to seek Australia’s agreement before it signed any bilateral accords on maritime security, defense, and policing, and would receive Australian financial assistance in support of Nauru's police and security needs<br><br>Nauru has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within Nauru's designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2025)