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2 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Nauru
n 1: an island republic on Nauru Island; phosphate exports
support the economy [syn: {Republic of Nauru}]
2: a small island in the central Pacific Ocean 2,800 miles
southwest of Hawaii; in Micronesia west of the Gilbert
Islands [syn: {Nauru Island}, {Pleasant Island}]
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Nauru
Introduction Nauru
------------------
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.
Geography Nauru
---------------
Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific
Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
Geographic coordinates: 0 32 S, 166 55 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 21 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 30 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; monsoonal; rainy season
(November to February)
Terrain: sandy beach rises to fertile ring
around raised coral reefs with
phosphate plateau in center
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location
along plateau rim 61 m
Natural resources: phosphates, fish
Land use: arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
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
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: 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
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
People Nauru
------------
Population: 12,329 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 39.6% (male 2,515;
female 2,366)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 3,578;
female 3,656)
65 years and over: 1.7% (male 108;
female 106) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.96% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 26.6 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 7.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 61.57 years
female: 65.26 years (2002 est.)
male: 58.05 years
Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan
Ethnic groups: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander
26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
Religions: Christian (two-thirds Protestant,
one-third Roman Catholic)
Languages: Nauruan (official, a distinct
Pacific Island language), English
widely understood, spoken, and used
for most government and commercial
purposes
Literacy: definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Nauru
----------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru
former: Pleasant Island
Government type: republic
Capital: no official capital; government
offices in Yaren District
Administrative divisions: 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan,
Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada,
Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng,
Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
Independence: 31 January 1968 (from the
Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered
UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Constitution: 29 January 1968
Legal system: acts of the Nauru Parliament and
British common law
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and
compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Rene
HARRIS (since 30 March 2001); note -
the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
elections: president elected by
Parliament for a three-year term;
election last held NA March 2001
(next to be held NA 2004)
election results: Rene HARRIS
elected president; percent of
Parliamentary vote - NA%
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the
president from among the members of
Parliament
head of government: President Rene
HARRIS (since 30 March 2001); note -
the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (18 seats;
members elected by popular vote to
serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000
(next to be held NA April 2003)
election results: percent of vote -
NA%; seats - independents 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: loose multiparty system; Democratic
Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party
(informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, ICAO,
participation: Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca,
SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US: 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): Hagatna (Guam)
Diplomatic representation from the the US does not have an embassy in
US: Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is
accredited to Nauru
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
Economy Nauru
-------------
Economy - overview: Revenues of this tiny island have
come from exports of phosphates, but
reserves are expected to be
exhausted within a few years.
Phosphate production has declined
since 1989, as demand has fallen in
traditional markets and as the
marginal cost of extracting the
remaining phosphate increases,
making it less internationally
competitive. While phosphates have
given Nauruans one of the highest
per capita incomes in the Third
World, few other resources exist
with most necessities being
imported, including fresh water from
Australia. 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. The
government has been borrowing
heavily from the trusts to finance
fiscal deficits. 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. Tens of billions of
dollars have been channeled through
their accounts. Few comprehensive
statistics on the Nauru economy
exist, with estimates of Nauru's per
capita GDP varying widely.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $60
million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -3.6% (1993)
Labor force - by occupation: employed in mining phosphates,
public administration, education,
and transportation
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (FY95/96)
Industries: phosphate mining, offshore banking,
coconut products
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 30 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 27.9 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coconuts
Exports: $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)
Exports - commodities: phosphates
Exports - partners: NZ, Australia, South Korea, US
(2000)
Imports: $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)
Imports - commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building
materials, machinery
Imports - partners: Australia, US, UK, Indonesia, India
(2000)
Debt - external: $33.3 million
Economic aid - recipient: $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/
97 est.)
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code: AUD
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar -
1.9354 (January 2002) 1.9320 (2001),
1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888
(1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications Nauru
--------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 2,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 450 (1994)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate local
and international radiotelephone
communication provided via
Australian facilities
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 7,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 500 (1997)
Internet country code: .nr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: NA
Transportation Nauru
--------------------
Railways: total: 5 km
note: gauge unknown; used to haul
phosphates from the center of the
island to processing facilities on
the southwest coast (2001)
Highways: total: 30 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Nauru
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Military Nauru
--------------
Military branches: no regular military forces; Nauru
Police Force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,103 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 1,710 (2002 est.)
service:
Military expenditures - dollar $NA
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of NA%
GDP:
Military - note: Nauru maintains no defense forces;
under an informal agreement, defense
is the responsibility of Australia
Transnational Issues Nauru
--------------------------
Disputes - international: none
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