Nauru (2007) | Benin (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 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 (2000 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. | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. |
Birth rate | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
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 | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $1.6 billion (1998 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 Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
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 Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) | $274.6 million (1997) |
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 averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (2005) | 510.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 300 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (2005) | 226 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% 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: 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
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 28 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY 14, Marcos STEVEN 3 |
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, 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 | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) |
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 - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 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 | no natural harbors |
Highways | - | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 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 |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 3% (2000 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, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | - | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) | - |
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:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
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 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
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 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, 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 (2000 est.) |
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 (2007) | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $27 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.2% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 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 in winter |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; 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]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) | 6,590,782
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.781% (2007 est.) | 2.97% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 620,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
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: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 36,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 4,295 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) |
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 | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally |