Nauru (2006) | Benin (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.9% (male 2,507/female 2,391)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,004/female 4,123) 65 years and over: 2% (male 139/female 123) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 5 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | 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. | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. |
Birth rate | 24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues: $698.9 million
expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
Climate | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 30 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
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 Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
Disputes - international | none | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia | $342.6 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 21.39 million kWh (2003) | 631.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 376 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 23 million kWh (2003) | 274.3 million kWh (2001) |
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: Mont Sokbaro 658 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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 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 Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2005) | China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%, Indonesia 4.1% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.742 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 36.4%
industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 9 30 N, 2 15 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 | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
Highways | - | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2005) | China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 1.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | - | NA (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: 0.1% employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
Languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law and customary law; 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 23 October 2004 (next to be held not later than 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 note: the president dissolved parliament on 30 September 2004 and set new elections for 23 October 2004 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.08 years
male: 59.5 years female: 66.84 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.25 years female: 51.39 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
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 (2005) | Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $98.3 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,638,010
females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 835,561
females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 77,552
females: 81,841 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party | African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 13,287 (July 2006 est.) | 7,250,033
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.81% (2006 est.) | 2.89% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
Railways | - | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 66,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 236,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | NA |
Waterways | - | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) |