Nauru (2008) | Nicaragua (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* |
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:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141) 15-64 years: 58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096) 65 years and over: 2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 182 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
171 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 145 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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. | Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
revenues:
$734 million expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Managua |
Climate | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 30 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | - | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million (2002) | $6.4 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 Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033 FAX: [505] (2) 669074 |
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 Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) | NA |
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. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (2005) | 2.265 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 20 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 100 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (2005) | 2.349 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
67.26% hydro: 17.71% nuclear: 0% other: 15.03% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - President Ludwig SCOTTY defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 19 December 2007 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 19 December 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: NA |
chief of state:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years election results: Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold |
Exports - partners | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) | US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
31.6% industry: 22.8% services: 45.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 13 00 N, 85 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 | - |
Highways | - | total:
16,382 km paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.8% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | 1,023 bbl/day (2004) | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) | US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
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.) |
33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 11% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 880 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | - | 1.7 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 27% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
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 Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
69.05 years male: 67.1 years female: 71.11 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 65.7% male: 64.6% female: 66.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
natural prolongation 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 (2008) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $26 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
58,232 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
noun:
Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes |
Natural resources | phosphates, fish | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 56 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) | 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.781% (2007 est.) | 2.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.24 million (1997) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 16 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:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,900 (2002) | 140,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 7,911 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 90% (2004 est.) | 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |