Nauru Economy Profile 2008

Economy - overview

Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$60 million (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$NA

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$5,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Population below poverty line

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

-3.6% (1993)

Labor force - by occupation

note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992)

Unemployment rate

90% (2004 est.)

Budget

revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005)

Industries

phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Electricity - production

30 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption

27.9 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

1,050 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

1,023 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Agriculture - products

coconuts

Exports

$64,000 f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities

phosphates

Exports - partners

South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006)

Imports

$20 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery

Imports - partners

South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006)

Debt - external

$33.3 million (2002)

Economic aid - recipient

$20 million mostly from Australia (2005)

Currency (code)

Australian dollar (AUD)

Exchange rates

Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June