New Caledonia (2001) | Nauru (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
30.31% (male 31,674; female 30,416) 15-64 years: 63.95% (male 66,014; female 65,006) 65 years and over: 5.74% (male 5,548; female 6,205) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products | coconuts |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
23 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
19,060 sq km land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. | 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. |
Birth rate | 20.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$861.3 million expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | Noumea | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 30 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) | - |
Death rate | 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $33.3 million (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1956 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | 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) |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $880 million annual subsidy from France | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) |
Economy - overview | New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.414 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.52 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
78.95% hydro: 21.05% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | 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 |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 127.11 (January 2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Thierry LATASTE (since 19 July 1999) head of government: President of the Government Jean LEQUES (since 28 May 1999) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress |
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 |
Exports | $411 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, France 17%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 9% (1999) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 30% services: 66% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 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 |
Heliports | 6 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,825 km paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $843 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 1,023 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | France 49%, Australia 14%, Singapore 6%, New Zealand 5%, US 5% (1999) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | NA% |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (1998 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1991) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 79,395 (including 15, 018 unemployed, 1996) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 12% forests and woodland: 39% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.02 years male: 70.08 years female: 76.11 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.3 million (1996) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (1996) | NA |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie [Didier LEROUX]; Developper Ensemble pour Construire l'Avenir or DEPCA [Robert FROUIN]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Leopald SOREDIE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Groupe de l'Alliance Multiraciale or GAM [Dany DALMAYRAE]; Independance et Progres [Alphonse PUJAPUJANE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); La Caledonie Autrement [Denis MILLIARD]; Loyalty Islands Development Front or FDIL [Cono HAMU]; National Front or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Charles WASHETINE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [leader NA]; Renouveau [Thierry VALET]; Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS [Nidoish NAISSELINE]; Union Caledonienne or UC [Bernard LEPEU]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Andre GOPEA] | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 204,863 (July 2001 est.) | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2001 est.) | 1.781% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mueo, Noumea, Thio | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 107,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,040 (1998) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 2.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19% (1996) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |