Republic of Nauru, South Pacific
Jeremy Starn
Republic of Nauru, South Pacific
Republic of Nauru, South Pacific
0° 31’ 22” S 166° 55’ 53.4” E
With an area of 8 sq. miles and a population of ~10,000 people, Nauru is the smallest island nation in the world. Starting in the 1960s, its economy was based on extracting a type of phosphate, mainly composed of bird guano. Profits from the mining rights were distributed to Nauru’s citizens making per-capita GDP one of the highest in the world. By 2000 mineral reserves were drastically depleted leaving unemployment around 90%. Due to the extensive mining, Nauruan’s are now forced to import nearly all of their food. As a result of the increased importation of processed food Nauru’s obesity rate is around 95%, the highest in the world. Sea level rise and an eroding coastline have been steadily increasing and as such Nauru is predicted to sit below sea level within the next century.