Nauru

Location:

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands

Border Countries:

Terrain:

sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center

Geography:

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

Capital:

no official capital; government offices in Yaren District

About Nauru

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.

Population:

13,770 (July 2008 est.)

Language:

Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes

Religion:

Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)

Phone Service:

adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities

Currency:

Australian dollar (AUD)

Climate:

tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)

Natural Hazards:

periodic droughts