Jersey (2007) | Nauru (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 12 parishes including Grouville, Saint Brelade, Saint Clement, Saint Helier, Saint John, Saint Lawrence, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Quen, Saint Peter, Saint Saviour, and Trinity | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.9% (male 8,003/female 7,428)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 30,586/female 30,853) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 6,388/female 8,063) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products | coconuts |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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 two-thirds the size of Washington, DC | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. Jersey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. | The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $829 million
expenditures: $851 million (2005) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | name: Saint Helier
geographic coordinates: 49 11 N, 2 06 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 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
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Death rate | 9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) |
Economy - overview | Jersey's economy is based on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. In 2005 the finance sector accounted for about 50% of the island's output. 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. Tourism accounts for one-quarter 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. Living standards come close to those of the UK. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. 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 were 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 frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 630.1 million kWh (2004 est.) | 27.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 30 million kWh (2005) |
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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Jersey 51.1%, Britons 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white 6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census) | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002)
note: the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound |
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Lieutenant Governor Andrew RIDGEWAY (since 14 June 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Frank WALKER (since December 2005); Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since February 1995) cabinet: Cabinet (since December 2005) elections: ministers of the Cabinet including the chief minister are elected by the Assembly of States; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004) 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 28 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY 14, Marcos STEVEN 3 |
Exports | $NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles | phosphates |
Exports - partners | UK (2006) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) |
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; in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield with 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 2% services: 97% (2005) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | UK (2006) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) |
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, electronics | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (December 2006) | -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 | NA |
Judicial branch | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 53,560 (June 2006) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | - | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census) | 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 and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the States of Jersey (58 seats; 55 are voting members, of which 12 are senators elected for six-year terms, 12 are constables or heads of parishes elected for three-year terms, 29 are deputies elected for three-year terms, the bailiff and the deputy bailiff, and 3 non-voting members includes the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held 19 October 2005 for senators and 23 November 2005 for deputies (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 55 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.51 years
male: 77.02 years female: 82.2 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 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 | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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 (2007) |
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 | 2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | two declared parties: Centre Party; Jersey Democratic Alliance
note: all senators and deputies elected in 2005 were independents |
Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 91,321 (July 2007 est.) | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.244% (2007 est.) | 1.781% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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: 1.077 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.792 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: submarine cable connectivity to Guernsey and UK |
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 | 73,900 (2001) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 83,900 (2004) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (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 | 1.58 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2006 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |