Nauru

Nauru, ( ) officially the Republic of Nauru, is a sovereign island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in the Republic of Kiribati, east. Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just , the smallest independent republic, and the only republican state in the world without an official capital. With 10,670 residents, it is the third least-populated country after Vatican City and Tuvalu.
Nauru is a phosphate rock island, and its main economic activity since 1907 has been the export of phosphate mined from the island. English and Nauruan are the official languages of Nauru. The current president of Nauru is Lionel Aingimea.
Geography
Nauru is a oval-shaped island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, south of the equator. The island is surrounded by a coral reef, which can be seen during low tide. Because of this coral reef, a harbor can not be built here. Canals in the reef let small boats get to the island. A fertile coastal strip wide lies inland from the beach.
Coral cliffs surround Nauru's central plateau. The highest point of the plateau, called the Command Ridge, is above sea level. The only fertile areas on Nauru are on the narrow coastal belt, where coconut palms flourish. The land surrounding Buada Lagoon supports bananas, pineapples, vegetables, pandanus trees, and indigenous hardwoods such as the tomano tree.
Nauru was one of three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean (the others were Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia). The phosphate reserves on Nauru are now almost entirely used up. Phosphate mining in the central plateau has left a barren terrain of jagged limestone pinnacles up to high. Mining has stripped and devastated about 80 per cent of Nauru's land area, and has also affected the surrounding Exclusive Economic Zone. About 40 per cent of marine life has been killed by silt and phosphate runoff.
There are only about 60 native vascular plant species on the island. Coconut farming, mining, and introduced species have damaged the island's native vegetation. There are no native land mammals, but there are native insects, land crabs, and birds, including the Nauru Reed Warbler. The Polynesian rat, cats, dogs, pigs, and chickens have been introduced to Nauru from ships.
There are only a few fresh water sources on Nauru. Storage tanks collect rainwater, but the islanders usually have to rely on desalination plants at Nauru's Utilities Agency.
The island's biggest problems are climate change and rising sea levels. Nauru is the seventh most global warming threatened nation due to flooding. At least 80 per cent of the land of Nauru is well elevated, but this area will be uninhabitable until the phosphate mining rehabilitation programme is implemented
Climate
Nauru's climate is hot and very humid year-round because of how close it is to the equator and the ocean. Nauru is hit by monsoon rains between November and February, but does not usually have cyclones. How much rain there is every year is highly variable, and is influenced by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. There have been many droughts in Nauru because of this. The temperature on Nauru ranges between and during the day, and between and at night.
Administrative divisions
Nauru is divided into fourteen administrative districts.
References
Other websites
Nauru, Permanent Mission to the United Nations
Asian Development Bank Country Economic Report, Nauru, November 2007
Our Airline - the former Air Nauru
Discover Nauru The Official Nauru Tourism Website
CenPac - The ISP of the Republic of Nauru
Radio program "This American Life" featured a 30-minute story on Nauru
High resolution aerial views of Nauru on Google Maps
Nauru country information on globalEDGE
Commonwealth member states