Nauru-Republic of Nauru

Nauru (Nauruan: Ripublik Naoero, also: Ripubrikin Naoero, English: Republic of Nauru) is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean with about 11,550 inhabitants (as of 2019). Nauru is the third smallest recognized state by area and the second or third smallest by population, as well as the smallest republic on Earth. Nauru consists of the coral island of the same name, which is part of the Micronesian archipelago (not to be confused with the Federated States of Micronesia), and territorial waters belonging to the state within twelve nautical miles.

The neighboring states are the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, the Marshall Islands to the north, Kiribati to the east and the Solomon Islands to the south. Originally, the island was inhabited by twelve tribes, grouped together as the Nauru people. In 1888, Nauru was placed under the rule of the German Empire as a protectorate. During World War I, Australia took control of the island and, apart from the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, maintained it until the country's independence in 1968. Economically, the mining of the rich phosphate deposits (guano/nauruit), discovered as early as 1900, was crucial for Nauru for a long time.

The country had the highest per capita income in the world. When the stocks ran out, it became apparent that the state and most citizens had not invested the profits generated by mining in a future-proof manner; Nauru became increasingly impoverished after the complete depletion of its only natural resource. As a result, the state's finances regularly hover on the brink of bankruptcy, but in recent years they have been stabilized by support measures coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum.