Nauru (2007) | Gabon (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem |
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:
33.29% (male 203,677; female 202,833) 15-64 years: 60.77% (male 373,828; female 368,282) 65 years and over: 5.94% (male 35,867; female 36,688) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 59 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
10 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 24 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
267,667 sq km land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Colorado |
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. | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. |
Birth rate | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues:
$1.5 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Libreville |
Climate | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 30 km | 885 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | adopted 14 March 1991 |
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:
Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $3.9 billion (2000 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 James V. LEDESMA embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
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 Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) | $331 million (1995) |
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. | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. An expected decline in oil output may lead to contraction in GDP in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (2005) | 948.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (2005) | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% 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 Iboundji 1,575 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; 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality |
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 (XAF) 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 XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF 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 El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium (1998) |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) | US 47%, France 19%, China 8%, Japan 1.3% (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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
10% industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 1 00 S, 11 45 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 | - |
Highways | - | total:
7,670 km paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,041 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, construction materials |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) | France 64%, US 4%, UK 2%, Netherlands 2%, (1999) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 17 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.3% (1995) |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair |
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.) |
94.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 1.5% (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, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts |
Labor force | - | 600,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,551 km border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 77% other: 3% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
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 Chamber of the Supreme 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 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 and 29 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2001); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2002) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 89, PGP 9, RNB 6, CLR 3, UPG 2, USG 2, independents 4, others 5; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
49.59 years male: 48.47 years female: 50.75 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $91 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.6% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
281,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
145,062 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
11,304 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
noun:
Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Serge MBA BEKALE]; National Rally of Woodcutters (Bucherons) or RNB [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) | 1,221,175
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% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.781% (2007 est.) | 1.02% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 7, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | - | 208,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
649 km (Gabon State Railways or OCTRA) standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% |
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 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 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: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 9,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 4 (plus five low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.69 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) |