_#_Climate: tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February)
_#_Terrain: sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs
with phosphate plateau in center
_#_Natural resources: phosphates
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
_#_Environment: only 53 km south of Equator
_#_Note: Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in
the Pacific Ocean--the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and
Makatea in French Polynesia
_*_People
_#_Population: 9,333 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 41 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 69 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Nauruan(s); adjective--Nauruan
_#_Ethnic divisions: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese
8%, European 8%
_#_Religion: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman
Catholic)
_#_Language: Nauruan, a distinct Pacific Island language (official);
English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
commercial purposes
_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
_#_Labor force: NA
_#_Organized labor: NA
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Nauru
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: no capital city as such; government offices in Yaren
District
_#_Administrative divisions: 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan,
Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe,
Yaren
_#_Independence: 31 January 1968 (from UN trusteeship under Australia,
New Zealand, and UK); formerly Pleasant Island
_#_Constitution: 29 January 1968
_#_Legal system: own Acts of Parliament and British common law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
_#_Executive branch: president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Bernard DOWIYOGO
(since 12 December 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders: none
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 20
_#_Elections:
President--last held 9 December 1989 (next to be held December
1992);
results--Bernard DOWIYOGO elected by Parliament;
Parliament--last held on 9 December 1989 (next to be held
December 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(18 total) independents 18
_#_Member of: C (special), ESCAP, ICAO, INTERPOL, ITU, SPC, SPF, UPU
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Theodore
Conrad MOSES resident in Melbourne (Australia); there is a Nauruan
Consulate in Agana (Guam);