Nauru Geography - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands

Geographic coordinates

0 32 S, 166 55 E

Map references

Oceania

Area

total: 21 sq km

land: 21 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

30 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)

Terrain

sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center

Elevation

highest point: Command Ridge 70 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

phosphates, fish

Land use

agricultural land: 20% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 20% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 0% (2018 est.)

other: 80% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

0 sq km (2022)

Population distribution

extensive phosphate mining made approximately 90% of the island unsuitable for farming; most people live in the fertile coastal areas, especially along the southwest coast

Natural hazards

periodic droughts

Geography - note

Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind the Holy See (Vatican City) and Monaco; it is the smallest country in the Pacific Ocean, the smallest country outside Europe, the world's smallest island country, and the the world's smallest independent republic; situated just 53 km south of the Equator, 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

NOTE: The information regarding Nauru on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nauru 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nauru 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.