Economic Overview

Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally 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. In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ...

Economic statistics

• GDP: purchasing power parity - US$60 million (2001 est.)
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - US$5,000 (2001 est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): -3.6% (1993)
• Budget: revenues: US$23.4 million; expenditures: US$64.8 million (1995/96)
• External debt: US$33.3 million
• Economic aid - receives around US$2.25 million from Australia (1996/97 est.)
• Currency: Australian dollar

The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. In economics, purchasing power parity (PPP) is a method used to calculate an alternative exchange rate between the currencies of two countries. ... In economics, purchasing power parity (PPP) is a method used to calculate an alternative exchange rate between the currencies of two countries. ... Aid is assistance, often financial, provided to developing countries by developed countries. ... The Australian dollar, AUD or A$, is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining, and the last day of June. ...

Employment

• Labour force are mainly employed in mining phosphates, public administration by the NPC, education and transport
• Unemployment rate is close to zero.
• Main industries are phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
• Electricity production (fossil fuels) and consumption are around 30 GWh (2000)
• Agriculture is not a major employer, coconuts are the main produce

In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ... Public administration is, broadly speaking, the implementation of policy within a state framework. ... Logo NPC The Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) is a government-owned company controlling phosphate mining in Nauru. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California during the Great Depression. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Cocos nucifera L. Also a song by Harry Nilsson The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ...

Trade

• Exports - valued at US$25.3 million (1991), mainly phosphates, main partners are New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, US (2000)
• Imports - valued at US$21.1 million (1991), mainly food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery, main partners are Australia, USA, UK, Indonesia, India (2000)

See also

• Nauru
• NPC