Nauru (2006) | Mali (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
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: 48.2% (male 2,921,914/female 2,853,976)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,891,494/female 2,959,142) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,301/female 219,575) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 29 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair. |
Birth rate | 24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 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) | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 30 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | adopted 12 January 1992 |
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 Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Death rate | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
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 Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: located just off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge just west of the Bamako central district mailing address: ACI 2000, Rue 243, Porte 297, Bamako telephone: [223] 270-2300 FAX: [223] 270-2479 |
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 Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia | $691.5 million (2005) |
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. | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a 5% average in 1996-2007. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 21.39 million kWh (2003) | 412.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 23 million kWh (2003) | 444 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
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 - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
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 Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Modibo SIDIBE (since 28 September 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 April 2007 (next to be held April in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE reelected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 71.2%, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 19.2%, other 9.6% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2005) | China 26.8%, Germany 24.9%, Thailand 7.1%, Taiwan 4.9%, Bangladesh 4% (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 vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.3% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 17 00 N, 4 00 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 | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001) |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 4,369 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2005) | France 12.8%, Senegal 12.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.5% (2006) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
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: 105.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 4.5% (2002 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, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | - | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: 0.1% employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; 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 (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 22 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADP coalition 113 (including ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (including RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.08 years
male: 59.5 years female: 66.84 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 49.51 years
male: 47.6 years female: 51.46 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
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) | Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.9% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party | Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region); African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of political parties including ADEMA and URD formed in December 2006 to support the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE]; Convergence 2007 [Soumeylou Boubeye MAIGA]; Front for Democracy and the Republic or FDR (a coalition of political parties including RPM and PARENA formed to oppose the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 13,287 (July 2006 est.) | 11,995,402 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.81% (2006 est.) | 2.681% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9% |
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: 1.024 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.977 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 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: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: fixed-line availability is gradually increasing, but subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to 13 per 100 persons international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 82,500 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 1.513 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (plus repeaters) (2007) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,800 km (2007) |