Location: Oceania, Micronesia, 500 km north-northeast of Papua New Guinea

Map references: Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 21 sq km
land area: 21 sq km
comparative area: about one-tenth the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 30 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

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%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: limited water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater; phosphate mining threatens limited remaining land resources
natural hazards: rainfall is erratic
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Marine Dumping; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

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; only 53 km south of Equator

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 Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nauru Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.