Burma (2001) | Nauru (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon* | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.14% (male 6,245,798; female 5,992,074) 15-64 years: 66.08% (male 13,779,571; female 13,970,707) 65 years and over: 4.78% (male 895,554; female 1,110,974) (2001 est.) |
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 | paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood | coconuts |
Airports | 80 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
71 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the military junta ruling the country refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention in September 2000; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. | 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 | 20.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 30 km |
Constitution | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $6 billion (FY99/00 est.) | $33.3 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 282055, 282182 FAX: [95] (1) 280409 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate U LINN MYAING chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | sporadic border hostilities with Thailand over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | Burma has a mixed economy with private activity dominant in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with substantial state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade. Government policy in the 1990s has aimed at revitalizing the economy after three decades of tight central planning. Private activity markedly increased in the early to mid-1990s, but began to decline in the past several years due to frustrations with the unfriendly business environment and political pressure from western nations. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume of black-market, illicit, and border trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Burma remains a poor Asian country and living standards for the majority have not improved over the past decade. Short-term growth will continue to be restrained because of poor government planning and minimal foreign investment. | 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 | 4.476 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 4.813 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
68.56% hydro: 31.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.5972 (January 2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997), 5.9176 (1996); kyats per US dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000) | 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:
Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the former prime minister |
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 | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | apparel 36%, foodstuffs 22%, wood products 21%, precious stones 5% (1999) | phosphates |
Exports - partners | India 13%, Singapore 11%, China 11%, US 8% (1999 est.)
note: official trade statistics do not include trade in illicit goods - such as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand |
South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions | 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 | purchasing power parity - $63.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan (potential production in 1999 - 1,090 metric tons, down 38% due to drought; cultivation in 1999 - 89,500 hectares, a 31% decline from 1998); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; becoming a major source of methamphetamine for regional consumption | 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 | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Singapore 28%, Thailand 12%, China 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 9% (1999 est.) | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 73.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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) | 18% (1999) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000) |
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Irrigated land | 10,680 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 19.7 million (FY98/99 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total:
5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 49% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60 |
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:
55.16 years male: 53.73 years female: 56.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 88.7% female: 77.7% (1995 est.) note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 411,181 GRT/632,769 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Japan 2 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97/98) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97/98) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
12,050,964 females age 15-49: 12,070,017 note: both sexes liable for military service (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
6,425,514 females age 15-49: 6,419,677 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
470,667 females: 479,691 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [U KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime; the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA | NA |
Population | 41,994,678
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
13,048 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (1997 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.6% (2001 est.) | 1.83% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 4.2 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge |
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Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 250,000 (2000) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.1% (official FY97/98 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
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