Nauru (2005) | Sierra Leone (2008) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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: 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.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 10 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. | Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption. |
Birth rate | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (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 with a monsoonal pattern; 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; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | 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 |
Death rate | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $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) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 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): Agana (Guam) |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) | $343.4 million (2005 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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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 and rutile mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (2002) | 227.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (2002) | 245 million kWh (2005) |
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 depleted natural resources; overfishing |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003) |
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 |
chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) 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 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
Exports | NA | 431.1 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) |
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 - 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 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 6.8% (2007 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 (2007) |
Highways | 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%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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 | 8,864 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
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, offshore banking, coconut products | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
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.) |
total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 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% other: 100% (2001) |
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 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 |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 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: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
Military - note | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.3% (2006) |
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, fish | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 13,048 (July 2005 est.) | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 70.2% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2005 est.) | 2.292% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Nauru | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: marginal telephone 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) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 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 | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |