Nauru (2005) | French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | coconuts | - |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | none (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware |
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. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. | The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840. |
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) |
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Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District | - |
Climate | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) | antarctic |
Coastline | 30 km | 1,232 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises |
Death rate | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | - |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Francois GARDE (since 24 May 2000), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru | none (overseas territory of France) |
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): Agana (Guam) |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | 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. | Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion. |
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 |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 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 | NA |
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 |
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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: 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 |
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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 | 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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | - |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 43 00 S, 67 00 E |
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 | islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean |
Highways | total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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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.) |
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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 | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | - |
Labor force - by occupation | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | - |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
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Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land" |
Map references | Oceania | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM from Iles Kerguelen only
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,596,194 GRT/5,924,475 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 4, chemical tanker 14, container 15, liquefied gas 5, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 17, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 2, France 62, Japan 3, Monaco 1, Norway 5, Sweden 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of France |
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 |
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Natural hazards | periodic droughts | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | fish, crayfish |
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 | 13,048 (July 2005 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.)
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2005 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Nauru | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | 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.) |
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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) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | - |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | - |
Waterways | - | none |