Akrotiri (2006) | Nauru (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 37.5% (male 2,511/female 2,379)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 3,895/female 4,012) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 132/female 119) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coconuts |
Airports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | - | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 30 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Death rate | - | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $33.3 million (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | - | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. 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. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. 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. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 27.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 30 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | - | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); 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 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | phosphates |
Exports - partners | - | South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | 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 |
Highways | - | total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | - | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | - | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court |
Labor force - by occupation | - | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English, Greek | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | - | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | - | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | - | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
13,048 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 1.83% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | - | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 90% (2004 est.) |