Jersey (2001) | Nauru (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency) | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.77% (male 8,214; female 7,667) 15-64 years: 67.59% (male 30,065; female 30,331) 65 years and over: 14.64% (male 5,603; female 7,481) (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 | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products | coconuts |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
116 sq km land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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 | The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | 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 | 11.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$601 million expenditures: $588 million, including capital expenditures of $98 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Saint Helier | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | temperate; mild winters and cool summers | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 70 km | 30 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Bailiwick of Jersey conventional short form: Jersey |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Jersey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | none | $33.3 million (2002) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | none | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy is based largely on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. In 1996 the finance sector accounted for about 60% of the island's output. Tourism, another mainstay of the economy, accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. | 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 | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 30 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 143 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | UK and Norman-French descent | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound | 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: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshall Sir John CHESHIRE (since 24 January 2001) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since NA February 1995) cabinet: committees appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff 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 | NA |
Exports - commodities | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles | phosphates |
Exports - partners | UK | 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 | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield holding the three lions of England in yellow | 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 - $2.2 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 2% services: 93% (1996) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 49 15 N, 2 10 W | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier | 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:
577 km (1995) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | UK | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | tourism, banking and finance, dairy | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 5.62 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) | 4.7% (1998) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 57,050 (1996) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | - | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
66% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 34% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | English law and local statute | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12 senators, 12 constables or heads of parishes, 29 deputies; all elected for six-year terms, half elected every third year; the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 52 |
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:
78.63 years male: 76.21 years female: 81.23 years (2001 est.) |
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 |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | 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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | arable land | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 89,361 (July 2001 est.) | 13,048 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.48% (2001 est.) | 1.83% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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 | NA years of age; universal adult | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 3 submarine cables |
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 | 65,500 (1997) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,400 (1997) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 1.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (1998 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |