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The country is governed by a unicameral Parliament consisting of 18 members elected at least triennially from 14 constituencies. Parliament elects the president, who is both chief of state and head of government, from among its members. The president appoints a Cabinet from among Parliament. For its size, Nauru has a complex legal system. The Supreme...
The economy depends almost entirely on the country's declining phosphate deposits. These were depleted in 2000 on a largescale commercial basis; however, smallscale mining is still occurring. The government-owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) controls the mining industry. Many of the miners are contract workers from Kiribati and Tuvalu. The government...
The Lonely Planet has information about the culture of Nauru
Nauru had little contact with Europeans until whaling ships and other traders began to visit in the 1830s. The introduction of firearms and alcohol destroyed the peaceful coexistence of the 12 tribes living on the island. A 10-year internal war began in 1878 and resulted in a reduction of the population from 1,400 (1843) to around 900 (1888). The island...
Nauru is a small oval-shaped island in the western Pacific Ocean, located just 42 kilometers (26 mi.) south of the Equator. It is one of three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean--the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia--though its phosphate reserves are nearly depleted. Phosphate mining in the...
Nauruans descended from Polynesian and Micronesian seafarers. Grouped in clans or tribes, early Nauruans traced their descent on the female side. They believed in a female deity, Eijebong, and a spirit land, also an island, called Buitani. Two of the 12 original tribal groups became extinct during the 20th century. Because of poor diet, alcohol abuse,...
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