Sri Lanka (2002) | Nauru (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.6% (male 2,559,246; female 2,446,393)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 6,446,320; female 6,802,515) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 628,398; female 693,911) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.5% (male 2,511/female 2,379)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 3,895/female 4,012) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 132/female 119) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | coconuts |
Airports | 15 (2001) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-3rd century B.C. and a great civilization developed at such cities as Anuradhapura (kingdom from c. 200 B.C. to c. 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (c. 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796 and became a crown colony in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 30 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | - |
Death rate | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $33.3 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345 |
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 Devinda R. SUBASINGHE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) (1998) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%. But 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. 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 have been 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 called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.156 billion kWh (2000) | 27.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.619 billion kWh (2000) | 30 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 32%
hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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 | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 93.383 (January 2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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 | $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000) | South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels | 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 - $62.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21%
industry: 27% services: 52% (2000) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | 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: 11,285 km
paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | $6 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000) | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2001) | NA |
Industries | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.2% (2001 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 46.8%, PA and EPDP 38%, JVP 9.1%, Tamil National Alliance 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, Tamil National Alliance 15, PLOTE 1 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin 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: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 137,321 GRT/233,367 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 193,522 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | - |
Political parties and leaders | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Nadarajah RAVIRAJ]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups | NA |
Population | 19,576,783
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2002 est.) |
13,048 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.85% (2002 est.) | 1.83% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 3.85 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 1,463 km
broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2001) |
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Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | 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: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
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 | 494,509 (1998) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2001) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | - |