The Republic of Nauru
..(1)..
oval-shaped island lying near ..(2)..
equator, Nauru ([na:’u:ru:]/[nau’ru:])
is the smallest republic in the world.
Capital: Owing to its small size, Nauru has no capital.
Geography: The Republic of Nauru comprises ..(3).. small oval-shaped island in ..(4).. western Pacific Ocean. Nauru lies 42km (26 miles) south of ..(5).. equator. Its nearest neighbour is ...(6).. Ocean Island (Banaba, part of ..(7).. Kiribati), 305km (190 miles) to the East. It is 4,000km (2,485 miles) from Sydney.
Area: ...(9)..total land area is 21 sq km (8.1 sq miles).
Topography: ..(9).. phosphate mining in ..(10).. central plateau leaves ..(11).. barren terrain of ..(12).. jagged coral pinnacles, up to 15m (49ft) high. ..(13).. century of mining has stripped four-fifths of ..(14).. total land area. The island is surrounded by ..(15).. coral reef, exposed at ..(16).. low tide and dotted with ..(17).. pinnacles. ..(18).. reef is bounded seaward by ..(19).. deep water, inside by ..(20).. sandy beach. Landward from ..(21).. beach lies ..(22).. 150–300m (492-984ft) wide fertile coastal strip. Coral cliffs surround ..(23).. central plateau. The highest point of the plateau is 65m (213ft) above ..(24).. sea level.
Climate: The climate is tropical, with ..(25).. sea breezes. ..(26).. Day temperatures are 24-34C, average humidity 80%. ..(27).. rainfall is erratic and heavy; average annual rainfall is 2,060mm. ..(28).. monsoon season is November to February. Nauru is threatened by ..(29).. ‘greenhouse effect’: if ..(30).. global warming of the earth causes ..(31).. sea levels rise, ..(32).. habitable low-lying land areas will be at ..(33).. risk from ..(34).. tidal surges and flooding.
Vegetation: The only fertile areas are ..(35).. narrow coastal belt, where there are coconut palms, pandanus trees and indigenous hardwoods such as ..(36).. tomano tree, and ..(37).. land surrounding Buada lagoon, where bananas, pineapples and some vegetables are grown.
Society:
Population: 10,000 (mid-1992 est.) There is ..(38).. fluctuating population of ..(39).. overseas workers. Birth rate 19.8 per 1,000 (1987–90/91). Life expectancy 68 years in 1993. ..(39).. Nauruan people are mainly of ..(40).. mixed Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian origin, but are most closely related to ..(41).. Polynesians. More than half ..(42).. population are Nauruan; the rest are ..(43).. other Pacific Islanders, with smaller numbers of Chinese and Europeans. The Nauruans were divided into twelve clans. You still can tell by looking at the flag, on it there is ..(44).. twelve-pointed star. Every point symbolizes one of ..(45).. twelve origin clans. The yellow-gold strip symbolizes ..(46).. equator and the blue of course symbolizes the Pacific.
Language:
..(47)..
Nauruan and English are spoken, but only English is written.
Education: Free and compulsory, age 5–16. ..(48).. scholarships are available for ..(49).. higher education overseas.
Media: ..(50).. fortnightly Bulletin is the main newspaper. ..(51).. Radio Nauru began broadcasting in 1968, supplemented by a satellite telecommunications centre in 1975. ..(52).. television service was started in 1991.
Transport: ..(53).. sealed road 19km (12 miles) long circles the island. Several miles of road run inland to ..(54).. Buada District and ..(55).. phosphate areas. ..(56).. regular local bus service operates around the island. Hire or self-drive cars ais available. ..(57).. 5km (3-mile) railway serves ..(58).. phosphate workings and carries the phosphate to the coast. ..(59).. Nauru Pacific Line, owned by the Nauru Local Government Council, operates commercial cargo services. Nauru’s national airline is ..(60).. Air Nauru.
Overview: ..(61).. phosphate revenues appear to give Nauru ..(62).. high per capita income, although ..(63).. exact figures are not available. The country is heavily dependent on ...(64).. imports for ..(65).. basic necessities: practically all foodstuffs, consumer and capital goods are imported, as is much of ..(66).. water. However, the cost of ..(67).. living is high, approximating to that in Australia. ..(68).. phosphate deposits were exhausted by the end of the 20th century. Past surpluses from ...(69).. phosphate industry have been invested abroad, to provide income when ..(70).. runs out.
Traveller information:
Public holidays: ..(71).. Nauru’s most interesting public holiday is ..(72).. Angam Day (26 October). The word Angam means homecoming and this day commemorates the various times in ..(73).. history when the size of the Nauruan population has returned to 1,500, which is thought to be ..(74).. minimum number necessary for survival. Other public holidays are ..(75).. New Year’s Day (1 January), ..(76).. Independence Day (31 January), ..(77).. Easter (5-8 April), ..(78).. Constitution Day (17 May).
History:
First inhabited by ..(79).. seafaring Polynesian and Melanesian explorers, Nauru had ..(80).. little contact with Europeans until ..(81).. whaling ships and other traders began to visit in ..(82).. 1830s. Grouped in ..(83).. clans or tribes, the Nauruans traced their descent on ..(84).. female side. They believed in ..(85).. female deity, Eijebong, and ..(86).. spirit land, also an island, called Buitani.
The introduction of firearms and alcohol destroyed ..(87).. peaceful co-existence of ..(88).. 12 tribes living on the island and led to ..(89).. ten-year internal war, which reduced the population from 1,400 (1843) to around 900 (1888).
The island was allocated to Germany under ..(90).. 1886 Anglo-German Convention. The island was captured by ..(91).. Australian forces in 1914 and in 1920 the League of Nations gave Britain, Australia and New Zealand ..(92).. Trustee Mandate over the territory.
Nauru was damaged by ..(93).. German naval gunfire and later by Allied bombing in ..(94).. 1939–45 war. Following ..(95).. Japanese occupation, 1,200 Nauruans were deported to work as labourers in ..(96).. Caroline Islands, where 463 died. The survivors were returned to Nauru in January 1946. After the war, the island became ..(97).. UN Trust Territory, in ..(98).. line with the previous League of Nations mandate. .
Independence: Nauru became independent as ..(99).. Republic in 1968, and joined the Commonwealth as a Special Member.
Sir Hammer DeRoburt, ..(100).. independent Nauru’s first Head of State, was unseated by Parliament in 1976; but, re-elected two years later
In 1993,
following ..(101)..
US$ 72m claim filed by Nauru at ...(102)..
Court of Justice in ..(103)..
Hague, Australia agreed out-of-court to pay ..(104)..
compensation for the ecological damage caused by phosphate mining.
..(105).. Nauru Government announced plans to rehabilitate the island. Britain and New Zealand have pledged contributions of US$ 8m each. At ..(106).. 1994 Small Island States Conference on ..(107).. sustained development, ..(108).. Nauru government announced plans to rehabilitate the island.
Nauru is robbed from its treasures, the phosphate sources, which were gifted by ..(109).. thousands of birds which established over ..(110).. million years at Nauru. The sources once made the island very rich. The population of Nauru had the highest income per ..(111).. inhabitant of the whole Pacific. That made Nauru one of the most prosperous countries in the world.