Nauru Geography - 2024

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