Nauru Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

For most of the 20th century, this tiny island nation has been plundered of its unlikely treasure—phosphate. Mined for use in fertilizer, the phosphate enriched the island in one way—Nauru has one of the highest per capita incomes of in the Pacific—but left it impoverished in others. It is now an ecological disaster area and about the least scenic place in the South Pacific. The interior of the island is a mined-out wasteland, with bizarre pinnacles of coral poking up from vast pits. And with the phosphate reserves about to run out, the islanders face an uncertain future.

In short, we don't recommend Nauru to anyone, except maybe those with a highly specialized interest in mining, a fascination with human folly or a desire to visit every independent nation in the world.

Geography

History

A British captain was the first European to set foot on the land (in 1798), and he found some 12 tribes living there. Germans gained control a century later, and in the early 1900s, phosphate mining began. After World War I, the League of Nations transferred control of the island to Australia. It was then occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Afterward, it became an Australian-administered trust territory and then achieved independence in 1968.

In recent years, there have been several scandals and much political bickering surrounding the trust fund that invests mining revenue. Meanwhile, the long-term future of the island is unclear. Australia and New Zealand have agreed to pay more than A$100 million over 20 years to help rehabilitate the ravaged environment, but there are no guarantees that agriculture will ever be possible on the island. Over the years, plans have been put forth to move the people of Nauru elsewhere. While none has come to fruition, it's not entirely out of the question. Meanwhile, attempts are under way to find new economic pursuits. One of the most lucrative thus far is offshore banking.

Snapshot

Potpourri

One of the more colorful incidents involving Nauru's trust-fund investments was the multimillion dollar loss incurred when the fund was used to help finance Leonardo: Portrait of Love, a failed musical about Leonardo Da Vinci. One of the country's financial advisors co-wrote the play.

When agriculture ceased on the island during the 1900s, most residents began eating a lot of canned food and meals high in fat. As a result, the island has the world's highest percentage of diabetics—more than 30% of the populace.

Islanders once regularly caught and tamed huge frigate birds, but the practice has become rare. Probably because the frigates have become rare—a victim of the island's environmental woes.

Nauru's most famous citizen may be Marcus Stephen, who won three gold medals in weightlifting at the 1992 Olympics.

Mining and environmental destruction aside, the island has been through some rough times. In the late 1800s, tribal warfare reduced the population of Nauru by a third (to less than 900 people). In 1919, another third of the population died in the space of two weeks during the worldwide influenza pandemic. And during World War II, the Japanese occupying forces deported two-thirds of the population to work as laborers. Half of them died under brutal conditions.

Citizens of Nauru pay no taxes.

Nauru has no capital city. Parliament House and government buildings can be found on the coast and opposite the airport in Yaren District.

Many workers on Nauru come from other places, including Kiribati, Tuvalu, China and the Philippines.