CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Nauru


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!| Background:
 * 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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 21 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
 * 0 32 S, 166 55 E
 * Oceania
 * total: 21 sq km
 * about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 30 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)
 * sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center
 * lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
 * phosphates, fish
 * arable land: 0%
 * NA sq km
 * periodic droughts
 * 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
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
 * 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
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 60% (male 3,782; female 3,898) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 128; female 113) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 19.5 years female: 20.4 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 12.76 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 58.78 years female: 66.06 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Nauruan !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: NA male: NA female: NA
 * 12,809 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 2,516; female 2,372)
 * total: 19.9 years
 * 1.87% (2004 est.)
 * 25.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 10.14 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 62.33 years
 * 3.29 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Nauruan(s)
 * Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
 * Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)
 * Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
 * definition: NA
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: 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 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government !| Legislative branch: 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 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
 * republic
 * no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
 * 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
 * 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
 * Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
 * 29 January 1968
 * acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law
 * 20 years of age; universal and compulsory
 * chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
 * Supreme Court
 * loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA]
 * NA
 * ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
 * 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
 * the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: NA !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.)
 * NA
 * purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.)
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * -3.6% (1993)
 * employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation
 * 0% (2002 est.)
 * revenues: $23.4 million
 * coconuts
 * phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
 * NA
 * 30 million kWh (2001)
 * 27.9 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $18 million f.o.b. (2002)
 * phosphates
 * Japan 42.3%, India 38.5%, South Korea 7.7% (2003)
 * $31 million c.i.f. (2002)
 * food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
 * Australia 67.9%, Indonesia 10.7%, US 7.1% (2003)
 * $33.3 million (2002)
 * $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) (2000 est.)
 * Australian dollar (AUD)
 * AUD
 * Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999)
 * 1 July - 30 June
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 1,900 (2002)
 * 1,500 (2002)
 * general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
 * AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 7,000 (1997)
 * 1 (1997)
 * 500 (1997)
 * .nr
 * 1 (2000)
 * 300 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 30 km
 * Nauru
 * none
 * 1 (2003 est.)
 * total: 1
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: !| Military - note:
 * no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force
 * males age 15-49: 3,275 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 1,810 (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia
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