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FACTBOX - Snapshot of Nauru, world's smallest republic

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NAURU: September 3, 2001

 

 

AIWO, Nauru - Nauru, the world's smallest republic, is helping its giant

neighbour Australia by taking some of the asylum seekers stranded at sea off

Christmas Island. Following is a snapshot of the island.

 

 

POSITION: Tucked away just south of the equator in the middle of the Pacific

Ocean, it measures just 21 square km (eight square miles). With its highest

point just 65 metres (213 feet) above sea level, it fears for its future in a

world of rising seas and global warming.

POPULATION: 12,000

 

CAPITAL: None (government offices are in Yaren area)

 

TIME: GMT +12

 

CURRENCY: Australian dollar

 

LANGUAGE: English, Nauruan

 

PRESIDENT: Rene Harris

 

HISTORY: Dubbed " Pleasant Island " when an English ship captain passed by in

1798, the mining of phosphate reserves brought wealth and the nickname " Kuwait

of the South Pacific " . Almost midway between Australia and Hawaii, it has lived

off the mining of high grade phosphate - fossilised remains of centuries of bird

droppings used in fertiliser - since 1907. British, Australian and New Zealand

interests began the extraction with Nauru carrying on since independence in

1968.

 

ECONOMY: Today the people of Nauru have little to show for a mining operation

that has turned their land into a moonscape and left them with a taste for

imported processed foods and an associated diabetes epidemic. Around 80 percent

of Nauru is now mine tailings and weeds. It has no other export industries and

is so broke it cannot always afford gasoline. Diesel used for power generation

is also scarce, leading to regular blackouts, and aviation gas is also low.

 

COMPENSATION: The three former rulers signed a A$107 million (US$57.8 million)

compensation deal in the early 1990s and, from royalties and land rents, a trust

built up to A$2.0 billion in assets. Heavy government borrowing against the

savings has left only a net A$400 million in the fund, government officials say.

With Asian Development Bank help, Nauru is reforming the investment policies of

its trust to keep hold of what is left. Many on the island believe little will

be left after land rehabilitation costs are met, estimated by some to reach

A$300 million.

 

MONEY LAUNDERING: In looking for new sources of income, Nauru has been caught up

in a money laundering web. The US Treasury department estimates $70 billion

moved through the island from Russia in 1998 alone. Fingered by the Organisation

for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a haven for money launderers,

Nauru has just passed a law to shut down financial crime.

 

TAX FREE STATUS: The government is determined that Nauru will not bow to demands

that it also end its tax free status, which it says is a sovereign right. The

OECD labels this unfair tax competition.

 

TOURISM: Nauruans see few visitors on their remote island with its golden

beaches, palm trees and rocky lagoon. But they need little excuse to celebrate

with copious quantities of beer imported, along with almost all foodstuffs, from

Australia.

 

FUTURE: Nauru has extensive real estate holdings in Australia and Hawaii and is

looking to lease fishing rights to its surrounding seas, if it can find a way to

supervise them. It is also studying whether to mine old phosphate sites for

lower quality material which might extend the current five-year life of the

mining for up to another 15 years. More lucrative an option has been financial

services, with 400 offshore banks trading through the Nauru Post Office.

 

HEALTH: Unhealthy eating habits and a genetic propensity for an

obesity-triggered form of diabetes means Nauru has a hospital filled with

patients suffering complications such as amputations, kidney and heart disease.

Experts say up to 45 percent of Nauruan adults have diabetes, part of a

Pacific-wide epidemic now affecting children. Some scientists blame a gene that

they speculate Pacific Island people have to help them store excess energy as

fat, perhaps a throwback to surviving famines and long sea journeys in the past.

 

 

 

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

 

 

 

and maybe the fact that polynsians shouldn't eat SPAM and other assorted

american " goodies "