The World’s Smallest Republic — Destroyed by Wealth
Nauru is the world’s smallest republic (21 km², 12,000 people) — and a textbook cautionary tale of the resource curse. In the 1970s-80s, Nauru was briefly one of the world’s wealthiest countries per capita thanks to its unique phosphate deposits (fossilised bird guano from millennia of seabird roosting), which provided a century of mining for agricultural fertilisers.
The wealth was catastrophically mismanaged — the government ran a high-profile state airline (Air Nauru, losing millions), bought unsuccessful London musicals, hired financial advisors who stole vast sums, and converted much of the sovereign wealth fund into bad investments and unsold real estate. The phosphate deposits were largely exhausted by the late 1990s, leaving an 80% strip-mined wasteland in the country’s interior — described as looking like the moon.
Nauru is now one of the world’s most obese countries — roughly 71-95% of adults are overweight or obese — a legacy of the mining (arable land destroyed), sedentary lifestyle, and processed-food diet. Diabetes rates are among the world’s highest.
Since 2001, Nauru has controversially hosted Australia’s offshore refugee detention centre — where asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are detained, sometimes for years. The camp has generated major human rights controversy and has become a significant part of Nauru’s economy through Australian payments.
A Brief History
Micronesian settlement 3,000 years ago. German colony 1888. Australian administration from 1914. Japanese occupation WWII (2/3 of Nauruans deported to Truk). Independence 1968. Phosphate wealth 1960s-1990s. Offshore detention from 2001.
Geography and Climate
Nauru covers 21 km² — the world’s 3rd-smallest country. Central plateau was phosphate, now mined-out wasteland. Climate: tropical.
Culture, Language and Religion
Nauruan and English are official. Religion: approximately 66% Christian.
The Economy
Nauru has a high-income economy (~$150 million GDP). Fishing licenses, Australian detention payments, limited phosphate. Once extraordinarily wealthy per capita, now much reduced.
Travel Guide
Entry: Visa required. Very few tourists visit — limited infrastructure.
Surprising Facts
- Nauru is the world’s smallest republic — 21 km², 12,000 people.
- Nauru’s phosphate wealth briefly made it one of the world’s wealthiest countries per capita in the 1970s-80s.
- Strip mining destroyed 80% of the island — leaving a lunar-like wasteland.
- Nauru has among the world’s highest obesity and diabetes rates — legacies of the mining era.
- Australia’s offshore refugee detention centre on Nauru has been a major human rights controversy since 2001.
- Nauru has no capital — Yaren is the district where government buildings are located, but there is no designated capital.
Sources and References
See the frontmatter for cited sources.