Coral cliffs surround the central plateau. The climate is tropical, with sea breezes. North-east trade winds blow from March to October. The monsoon season is November to February. The only fertile areas are the narrow coastal belt, where there are coconut palms, pandanus trees and indigenous hardwoods such as the tomano tree, and the land surrounding Buada lagoon, where bananas, pineapples and some vegetables are grown.
Some secondary vegetation grows over the coral pinnacles.
There is a fluctuating population of overseas workers. Life expectancy 68 years in 1993. The Nauruan people are mainly of mixed Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian origin, but are most closely related to the Polynesians. Nauruan and English are spoken, but only English is written. Free and compulsory, age 5 16.