Overview: Revenues come from the export of phosphates, the reserves of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000. Phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World - $10,000 annually. Few other resources exist, so most necessities must be imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. Substantial amounts of phosphate income are invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition.

National product: GNP - exchange rate conversion - $90 million (1989 est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $10,000 (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget:
revenues: $69.7 million
expenditures: $51.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1986 est.)

Exports: $93 million (f.o.b., 1984)
commodities: phosphates
partners: Australia, NZ

Imports: $73 million (c.i.f., 1984)
commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
partners: Australia, UK, NZ, Japan

External debt: $33.3 million

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity:
capacity: 14,000 kW
production: 50 million kWh
consumption per capita: 5,430 kWh (1990)

Industries: phosphate mining, financial services, coconut products

Agriculture: coconuts; other agricultural activity negligible; almost completely dependent on imports for food and water

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries (1970-89), $2 million

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.4364 (January 1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2834 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Nauru on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nauru Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nauru Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.