näooˈroo, officially Republic of Nauru, atoll and independent republic (1995 est. pop. 10,000), c.8 sq mi (20 sq km), central Pacific, just south of the equator and west of the Gilbert Islands of Kiribati. It was formerly called Pleasant Island. Yaren is the capital. There is a narrow band of habitable land along the coast; the island's interior is environmentally devastated as a result of phosphate mining. The country is a parliamentary republic with a president (administrator), elected by the legislative council, and a small cabinet. Nauruans are predominantly Polynesian, with heavy intermixtures of Micronesian and Melanesian strains.

Nauru is important for its high-grade phosphate deposits, now nearly exhausted; the possibilty of mining the residual deposits is being explored. Nauru has few other resources and must import virtually all necessities. The country has placed much of its phosphate revenue in trust funds to ease the transition away from mining, but bad investments led to a serious depletion of the fund in the 1990s. In an attempt to generate income, Nauru became an unregulated offshore banking center, gaining notoriety for money laundering. It abandoned offshore shore banking in Mar., 2003, under the threat of crippling economic sanctions by the United States, which regarded Nauru banks as potential havens for terrorist financing.

Nauru was visited in 1798 by the British and annexed in 1888 by Germany. Occupied during World War I by Australian forces, it was placed (1920) under a League of Nations mandate to Australia. Throughout World War II the island was occupied by the Japanese. Nauru was administered by Australia, Britain, and New Zealand under a UN trusteeship until 1968, when it became one of the world's smallest independent states. In 1993, Australia agreed to pay Nauru about $75 million for environmental damage caused by mining before independence. The country also receives aid from Australia in exchange for its acceptance (2001) of Afghan, Iraqi, and other Asian refugees that Australia refused to admit. Bernard Dowiyogo, who became president for a seventh time in Jan., 2003, died in Mar., 2003. Ludwig Scotty was elected president in May but was ousted in a no-confidence vote in August; René Harris, a former president, replaced Scotty.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

-33520-