Nauru
Updated: Sep 18, 2022
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Country Name
Nauru, or officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island.
Location
It is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, in the Central Pacific.
Its nearest neighbor is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 km (190 mi) to the
east. It further lies northwest of Tuvalu, 1,300 km (810 mi), northeast of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia, and south of the Marshall Islands.
Capital
Yaren.
There is no official capital for Nauru But the government offices are located in Yaren District.
Reason For Naming
The name "Nauru" may derive from the Nauruan word Anáoero, which means 'I go to the beach. In 1798, British sea captain John Fearn, on his trading ship Hunter (300 tons), became the first Westerner to report sighting Nauru, calling it "Pleasant Island", because of its attractive appearance.
Flag
The flag of Nauru was raised for the first time after gaining independence( from UN trusteeship, from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand), The flag was adopted on independence day, 31 January 1968. The flag consists of a dark blue background, the background is crossed by a yellow stripe in the middle, and below the stripe and closer to the left part of the flag, there is a twelve-pointed white star is placed. The star represents the twelve tribes that used to inhabit the island, although two of them do not exist already. The yellow stripe represents the equator and the star depicts the position of the island against the equator. The blue color represents the Pacific Ocean, which surrounds the island. The design of the flag was chosen through a public competition, where a draft by an Australian designer won.
Language
The official language of Nauru is Nauruan, a distinct Micronesian language, which is spoken by 96 % of Nauruans.
English is widely spoken and is the language of government and commerce, as Nauruan is not used outside of the country.
Minority Languages Spoken In Nauru are the Kiribati, Tuvaluan, Marshallese, Kosraen, Chinese Mandarin, and Cantonese languages.
Religion
The main religion is Christianity, the main denominations are Nauru Congregational Church, Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God, and Baptist.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion.
Other Religions Practiced In Nauru are Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
Currency
Australian dollar (AUD).
Time Zone
+12:00 GMT
Government Regime
Republic Former government: UN Trusteeship
Climate
The climate of Nauru, is equatorial, hot, and humid throughout the year, with constant rains and no dry season. We can still distinguish between a rainier period from December to April and a drier period from May to November. Rainfall can vary from year to year; it can sometimes rain a lot even in the least rainy season. However, June is the month that historically has had the lowest rainfall records. The average temperature is extremely stable during the year: lows hover around 24/25 °C (75/77 °F) and highs around 30 °C (86 °F). There is just a slight rise in temperatures between October and December. Sometimes, however, the temperature can reach 35 °C (95 °F) from November to April.