Nauru Economic Statistics and Indicators

21, Sep 2019, EDT. Welcome to the Nauru economic statistics pages provided by the beta version of EconomyWatch.com's Econ Stats database.

Economic Indicators For: Nauru › Change country
National or Regional Currency: Australian Dollar, AUD
Year of data: 2015 › Change year
Number of Indicators Listed:
Full Dataset: From Year 1980 to 2019
Date of Last Update: 17th March 2015
Population: 9,488 (July 2014 est.)
Area: total: 21 sq km ; land: 21 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
Natural Resources: phosphates, fish
Capital: no official capital; government offices in Yaren District ; time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Revenues of this tiny island traditionally have come from exports of phosphates. Few other resources exist, with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. In 2005 an Australian company entered into an agreement to exploit remaining supplies. Primary reserves of phosphates were exhausted and mining ceased in 2006, but mining of a deeper layer of "secondary phosphate" in the interior of the island began the following year. The secondary phosphate deposits may last another 30 years. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faced virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. Nauru lost further revenue in 2008 with the closure of Australia's refugee processing center, making it almost totally dependent on food imports and foreign aid. Housing, hospitals, and other capital plant are deteriorating. The cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continues to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely.

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