Nauru (2001) | Sierra Leone (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.33% (male 2,510; female 2,365) 15-64 years: 57.97% (male 3,475; female 3,533) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 103; female 102) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 10 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | 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. Upon achieving independence in 1968, Nauru became the smallest independent republic in the world; it joined the UN in 1999. | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability. |
Birth rate | 27.22 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$23.4 million expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 30 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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): Hagatna (Guam) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) | $297.4 million (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within five to ten years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. 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. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freezing of 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. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 242.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 260.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) | leones per US dollar - 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); 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 8 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Bernard DOWIYOGO elected president by a vote in Parliament of nine to eight note: former President Rene HARRIS was deposed in a no-confidence vote; this is the eighth change of government in Nauru since the fall of the Lagumont HARRIS government in a no-confidence motion in early November 1996; six of the last eight governments have resulted because of parliamentary no-confidence motions |
chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held 28 July 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
Exports | $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | Australia, NZ | Belgium 66.2%, Germany 13.5%, US 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $59 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | 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 | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Highways | total:
30 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Imports | $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, UK, NZ, Japan | Germany 18.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.2%, UK 8.5%, US 6.9%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, financial services, coconut products | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, ICAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | - | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
Languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 18 |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
61.2 years male: 57.7 years female: 64.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 40.22 years
male: 38.05 years female: 42.46 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006) |
Military - note | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $14.25 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,018 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,661 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun:
Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | phosphates | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO] | All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 12,088 (July 2001 est.) | 6,005,250 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Nauru | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 7,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast |
- |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate local and international radiotelephone communications provided via Australian facilities domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1996) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 450 (1994) | 113,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.61 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | NA% |
Waterways | none | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |