Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of Oceania in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati, about 300 km (190 mi) to the east. It lies northwest of Tuvalu, 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast of Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With an area of only 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi), Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind Vatican City and Monaco, making it the smallest republic and island nation. Its population of about 10,800 is the world's second-smallest after Vatican City. Settled by people from Micronesia circa 1000 BCE, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, and was bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into United Nations trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
The history of human activity in Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, began roughly 3,000 years ago when clans settled the island.
The demographics of Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, are known through national censuses, which have been analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1920s. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics have conducted this task since 1977—the first census since Nauru gained independence in 1968. The most recent census of Nauru was in 2011, when population had reached ten thousand. The population density is 478 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy is 59.7 years. The population rose steadily from the 1960s until 2006 when the Government of Nauru repatriated thousands of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati workers from the country. Since 1992, Nauru's birth rate has exceeded its death rate; the natural growth rate is positive. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15–64-year-old segment (65.6%). The median age of the population is 21.5, and the estimated gender ratio of the population is 0.91 males per one female.
The politics of Nauru take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nauru is the head of government of the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The economy of Nauru is tiny, based on a population in 2019 of only 11,550 people. The economy has historically been based on phosphate mining. With primary phosphate reserves exhausted by the end of the 2010s, Nauru has sought to diversify its sources of income. In 2020, Nauru's main sources of income were the sale of fishing rights in Nauru's territorial waters, and revenue from the Regional Processing Centre.
The Republic of Nauru Phosphate Corporation (RONPhos) is a government-owned company controlling phosphate mining in Nauru. The company was previously known as the Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC).
Banaba is an island of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. A solitary raised coral island west of the Gilbert Island Chain, it is the westernmost point of Kiribati, lying 185 miles (298 km) east of Nauru, which is also its nearest neighbour. It has an area of six square kilometres (2.3 sq mi), and the highest point on the island is also the highest point in Kiribati, at 81 metres (266 ft) in height. Along with Nauru and Makatea, it is one of the important elevated phosphate-rich islands of the Pacific.
Nauru House is a landmark 52-storey building located in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. The building was designed by architectural firm Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa and completed in 1977.
The British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) was a board of Australian, British, and New Zealand representatives who managed extraction of phosphate from Christmas Island, Nauru, and Banaba from 1920 until 1981.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nauru:
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Nauru. Australia administered Nauru as a dependent territory from 1914 to 1968 and has remained one of Nauru's foremost economic and aid partners thereafter. Nauru has a High Commission in Canberra and a consulate-general in Brisbane. Australia is one of only two countries to have a High Commission in Nauru. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Nauruan nationality law is regulated by the 1968 Constitution of Nauru, as amended; the Naoero Citizenship Act of 2017, and its revisions; custom; and international agreements entered into by the Nauruan government. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Nauru. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nauruan nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in the Nauru or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Nauruan nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
The economy of Banaba and Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental disaster on these islands, with 80% of the islands’ surface having been strip-mined. The phosphate deposits were virtually exhausted by 2000, although some small-scale mining is still in progress on Nauru. Mining ended on Banaba in 1979.
Tito v Waddell [1977] Ch 106 is an English trusts law case, concerning what counts as a trust, and creates fiduciary duties, and when specific performance will be ordered. It is important as an historical case that forced the eviction of the people from the island of Banaba. On the points of specific performance, it has been superseded in the cases of Ruxley Electronics Ltd v Forsyth. It stands as an historical example of an indigenous community exploited and expropriated by the mercantile mining interests of the British Empire.
India–Nauru relations are the international relations that exist between India and Nauru. These have been established since the island's independence in 1968.
Nauru–Philippines relations are the bilateral relations between Nauru and Philippines. The Philippines maintains relations with Nauru through its embassy in Canberra, Australia
The Ministry of Justice and Border Control of Nauru upholds the Constitution, provides legal advice to the federal government and represents the interests of the country in civil and criminal matters. It is divided into six sections:
Lionel Rouwen Aingimea is a Nauruan lawyer and politician. He served as President of Nauru from 2019 to 2022. He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru.
Asterio Appi is a Nauruan politician.
