]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands ^# 0 32 S, 166 55 E ^$ Oceania ^% `! 21 sq km `" 21 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 30 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 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 ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m ^- phosphates, fish ^. `' 0% `( 0% `) 100% (2001) ^/ NA ^0 periodic droughts ^1 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 _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection `L none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 13,048 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 37.5% (male 2,511/female 2,379) `+ 60.6% (male 3,895/female 4,012) `, 1.9% (male 132/female 119) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 20.24 years `- 19.76 years `. 20.78 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.83% (2005 est.) ^7 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.06 male(s)/female `+ 0.97 male(s)/female `, 1.11 male(s)/female `1 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births `- 12.51 deaths/1,000 live births `. 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 62.73 years `- 59.16 years `. 66.48 years (2005 est.) ^= 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Nauruan(s) `3 Nauruan ^B Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% ^C Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) ^D Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes ^E `M NA `1 NA% `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Nauru `5 Nauru `X Pleasant Island ^H republic ^I no official capital; government offices in Yaren District ^J 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren ^K 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) ^L Independence Day, 31 January (1968) ^M 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) ^N acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law ^O 20 years of age; universal and compulsory ^P `6 President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `7 President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `8 Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament `9 president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) `: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president ^Q unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) `9 last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) `: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 ^R Supreme Court ^S loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] ^T NA ^U ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO ^V 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 `g Agana (Guam) ^W the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $60 million (2001 est.) ^[ NA ^\ purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) ^] `; NA `< NA `= NA ^_ employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation ^` 90% (2004 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" -3.6% (1993) _# `@ $23.4 million `A $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) _$ coconuts _% phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products _& NA _' 30 million kWh (2002) _( 27.9 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $640,000 f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 phosphates _1 South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) _2 $19.8 million c.i.f. (2004 est.) _3 food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery _4 Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) _5 $33.3 million (2002) _6 $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) _7 Australian dollar (AUD) _8 Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) _9 1 July - 30 June 
]& _: 1,900 (2002) _; 1,500 (2002) _< `B adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities `C NA `D country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 1 (1997) _? .nr _A 300 (2002) 
]' _B `! 30 km `E 24 km `F 6 km (1999 est.) _C Nauru _D 1 (2004 est.) _E `! 1 `^ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force _] males age 18-49: 2,874 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,963 (2005 est.) _N NA _O NA _G Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia 
]) _H none _I 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 