ion: 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

land: 21 sq km

water: 0 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

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 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

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 100% (1993 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 agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

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

Nauru People

Population: 12,088 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 40.33% (male 2,510; female 2,365)

15-64 years: 57.97% (male 3,475; female 3,533)

65 years and over: 1.7% (male 103; female 102) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 27.22 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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: 1.01 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectan