Economy - overview Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within a few years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. 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 have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely.

GDP purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate NA%

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 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 employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation

Unemployment rate 0%

Budget
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)

Industries phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - production 30 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 27.9 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products coconuts

Exports $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)

Exports - commodities phosphates

Exports - partners NZ, Australia, South Korea, US (2000)

Imports $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)

Imports - commodities food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery

Imports - partners Australia, US, UK, Indonesia, India (2000)

Debt - external $33.3 million

Economic aid - recipient $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)

Currency Australian dollar (AUD)

Currency code AUD

Exchange rates Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)

Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Nauru on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nauru Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nauru Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.