Compare Southern Ocean (2007) - Nauru (2006)

Compare Southern Ocean (2007) z Nauru (2006)

	Southern Ocean (2007)	Nauru (2006)

Administrative divisions	-	14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
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.)
Agriculture - products	-	coconuts
Airports	-	1 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Area	total: 20.327 million sq km note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies	total: 21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than twice the size of the US	about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.	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	-	24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $13.5 million expenditures: $13.5 million (2005)
Capital	-	no official capital; government offices in Yaren District time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter	tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)
Coastline	17,968 km	30 km
Constitution	-	29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day)
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
Death rate	-	6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	-	$33.3 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru
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)
Disputes - international	Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$20 million mostly from Australia
Economy - overview	Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.	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	-	21.39 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	-	23 million kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m
Environment - current issues	increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries	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	the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing) note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north	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
Ethnic groups	-	Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
Exchange rates	-	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)
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
Exports	-	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	phosphates
Exports - partners	-	South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2005)
Fiscal year	-	1 July - 30 June
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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP - real growth rate	-	NA%
Geographic coordinates	60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude	0 32 S, 166 55 E
Geography - note	the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds	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
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
Imports - partners	-	South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2005)
Independence	-	31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	-3.6% (1993)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Irrigated land	-	NA
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court
Labor force - by occupation	-	note: 0.1% employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation
Land boundaries	-	0 km
Land use	-	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	-	Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
Legal system	-	acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 63.08 years male: 59.5 years female: 66.84 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Location	body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica	Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
Map references	Antarctic Region	Oceania
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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 (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Nationality	-	noun: Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan
Natural hazards	huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue	periodic droughts
Natural resources	probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish	phosphates, fish
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	-	13,287 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	1.81% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	-	Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)
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.)
Suffrage	-	20 years of age; universal and compulsory
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)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	1,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1,500 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (1997)
Terrain	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers	sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center
Total fertility rate	-	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Transportation - note	Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal	-
Unemployment rate	-	90% (2004 est.)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.