Nauru
POPULATION 12,329
CHRISTIAN 84 percent
BUDDHIST 15 percent
OTHER 1 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Republic of Nauru, a single, raised coral island located in the Pacific Ocean, is 26 miles south of the equator and 165 miles east of its nearest neighbor, Ocean Island. With an area of just over 8 square miles, it is roughly circular and has a 22-mile-long coastline and narrow shore. Because of phosphate mining, which began in 1906, the interior four-fifths of the island now consists primarily of coral pinnacles and is unusable and cannot be traversed.
The people of Nauru are usually considered Micronesian, though their language differs markedly from all others in Oceania. The British explored the island in 1798, and it was annexed by Germany in 1888. At about the same time, Christian missionaries were sent to introduce Christianity. In 1906 phosphate mining commenced to supply the agricultural interests of Australia and New Zealand. The island was taken over by the British Phosphate Commissioners as a League of Nations Mandate in 1919, with administration in the hands of the Australians. Nauruans had no say in this political move for outsider's economic gains. Japan occupied the island during World War II, after which Nauru became a United Nations trust territory.
This page contains 201 words.
Nauru article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 2,644 words
(approx. 9 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Nauru Article
