Demographics of Nauru

Population

With a population of ten thousand in 2011, Nauru ranks around 230th in the world by population. Its population density is 478 inhabitants per square kilometre (185 per square mile). The overall life expectancy in Nauru at birth is 59.7 years. The total fertility rate of 3.70 children per mother is one of the highest in the Oceania. Future estimates are indifferent; the Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook estimated the population of Nauru would decrease to approximately 9,400 in 2014, the United Nations projects the population will stay around 10,000 in the 2020s, and the Nauru Bureau of Statistics estimates the population will increase to 20,000 in 2038.

In Nauru's history, there have been six major demographics changes. The island was first inhabited by Micronesian people roughly 3,000 years ago. The first European to find the island was John Fearn in 1798. In 1888, the country was annexed by Germany. The next demographic change came when Japanese occupied the island during World War II in the 1940s. During this time, the Japanese deported several thousands of Nauruans to other islands. The next major demographic change was in the 1960s; the country gained independence, where the percentage of Nauruans started to increase. The last major demographics change was in 2006 when the Government of Nauru repatriated almost all of the remaining Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati workers, following large scale reduction from the Republic of Nauru Phosphate Corporation (RONPhos) and government workers. The census of 2006 stated 9,233 people were in Nauru: down 2.13% per year from the previous census of 2002.

From 2002–11, there has been negative net migration, with an annual negative 109 net immigrants from 2006–11. In 2009 there were 1,820 arrivals and 1,736 departures, for a positive rate of 84 immigrants. This was the first time since collecting data in 2002, there was a positive rate. Data on arrivals and departures collected by the Nauruan Customs and Immigration Office is not available, so specific immigration data is unavailable. As of the 2011 census, 57% of the population over 15 years old were legally or de facto married, 35% were never married, while 7% were either widowed, separated, or divorced. There are 1,647 households in Nauru, making an average household size of 6.0 persons per household.

Vital statistics

For births, deaths, and fertility rates, the Nauru Bureau of Statistics was used. For population, the United States Census Bureau's mid-year estimated were used. If a cell is shaded light green and a dagger stands beside a number, it indicates the estimate from The World Factbook. In 2013, the number of births (366) and birth rate (38.8) was the second-highest during this period. In 2011, the total fertility rate of 4.2 was the highest since 1992 (4.5). Since 2009, there has been a natural change of at least 200 inhabitants—the first since the reparations of the population in 2006.

Ethnic groups

Nauru, as of 2011, is mainly inhabited by Nauruans (94%), while the main minority groups include Fijians (1%), Chinese (1%), and Solomon Islanders (1%). This shows a major change from the previous major census of 2002, when Nauruans represented 75% of the population. According to the Constitution of Nauru does not exclude any ethnic group to become a citizen.

Languages

The Nauruan language is the official language of Nauru. English is widely understood and is used for most government and commercial purposes. According to the 2011 census, 95.3% of the population speaks Nauruan, 66.0% speak English, and 11.9% speak another language. Nauruan is an Austronesian language, however, no adequate written grammar of the language has been compiled, and its relationships to other Micronesian languages are not well understood.

Religions

The main religions in Nauru are Nauru Congregational (35.71%), Roman Catholic (32.96%), Assemblies of God (12.98%), and Nauru Independent (9.50%). The biggest changes from 2002–11 were an increase from 0 to 1,291 (Assemblies of God) and 1,417 to 282 (Other).Public holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Independence Day (31 January), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, Constitution Day (17 May), National Youth Day (25 September), Christmas Day, and Boxer Day.

Nauruan Independent was the predominant religion in Nauru before the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when foreign missionaries introduced Christianity to the island. It is still practised by 9.5% of the population, according to 2011 census. There are a few active Christian missionary organisations, including representatives of Anglicanism, Methodism, and Catholicism. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government restricted this right in some circumstances. The government has restricted the religious practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses, most of whom are foreign workers employed by RONPhos.

Education

Literacy rate in Nauru, defined as "people who are currently enrolled in school and/or have reached at least grade 5 of primary education", is 96.5%, as of 2011. There are 3,190 students and 104 teachers, as of 2013. The 2011 census stated 4 percent of the population aged 15 years or older have a primary education, 91 percent have a secondary education, and 5 percent have a tertiary education. Education is based on the British system, which requires attendance from 5 to 16 years old. Students spend three years at preschool, six years of primary education, and four years of secondary school. Tertiary school is not required. An estimated 10.7 percent of the GDP was spend on education in 1999. As of 2013, there are five preschools, four primary schools, three secondary schools, and one tertiary school. The lone college, University of South Pacific, opened in the 1970s via distance courses, and in 1987 a campus was built on the island. It offers accounting, management, primary education, and English studies as majors.

The education system had a near-collapse in 2000–2005. During this time, exams were not held, teachers were not paid, and schools did not have enough funding to continue. As a result, over half of the schools closed. In 2009, the Australian Government partnered with the Nauruan Department of Education to help. This agreement resulted in a 5.7% increase in students, teachers with a degree increased from 30% to 93%, and over A$11 million was used to construct a new secondary school.

Health

Nauru has a universal health care system, which is provided to all citizens for free. There is a single hospital, the Republic of Nauru Hospital in Yaren. It offers basic medical and surgical care, along with radiological, laboratory, pharmacy, and dental services. The Nauru Public Health Centre offers treatments for diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. This is the only form of specialized medical care in Nauru. Patients who require higher treatment are flown to Australia. In 2012, an estimated 7.5% of its GDP was spent on healthcare. As of 2010, there are 50 hospital beds. In 2004, there were 149 physicians and 557 nurses per 100,000 people. In 2012, it was estimated 26.2% and 22.1% of the population under 15 years of age consumed tobacco and cigarettes, respectively. The World Factbook estimates the population has a life expectancy of 66.4 years at birth, which ranks Nauru 169th in the world.

In 2013, there were 366 live births: 193 male and 173 female. The average age of mothers at first birth, as of a 2007 estimate, was 22.1 years. General fertility rate, i.e. numbers of births per 1,000 women aged 15–49 is 105. In 2011, 75 people died in Nauru. Cardiovascular disease (44%) and cancer (10%) were the primary causes of deaths in 2002. In the 2007–11 period, the birth rate was 27.2, exceeding the death rate of 7.5. The estimated infant mortality rate was 8.21 deaths per live births in 2014. In terms of age structure, the population of Nauru is dominated by the 15–64 rate (65.6%), while the size of the population younger than 15 and older than 64 is relatively small (32.5% and 1.8% respectively). The median age of the population is 21.5. The sex ratio of the population is 0.91 males per 1 female. Nauru has the highest obesity ranking in the world, 97 per cent of men and 93 per cent of women are obese. In 2011, the average body mass index was around 34.5, which is greater than obese (30+). According to The Independent the main reason for the obesity is result of the importation of Western foods.

Economic indicators

Net monthly income in 2006 averaged A$2,597 (A$2,905 in 2014). In the same year, gross monthly income averaged A$9,554 (A$10,685 in 2014). This was calculated during the mini-census of 2006, which featured 54.4% response rate of the population. The income was calculated using the following factors: first job salary, subsistence, other business income, second job salary, services to other households, benefits, house gifts consumed and received, and other income. Compared to other countries that use the Australian dollar—Kiribati, Australia, and Tuvalu—Nauru ranks number one in terms of income. Since 2013, Nauru does not have a minimum wage.

Nauru's number of employed people has steadily risen and fallen. According to the 2011 census, there are 908 employed persons and 2,883 unemployed persons, making an unemployment rate of 23%. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics predicted the unemployment rate will decrease to 22% in FY2014/15. The gross domestic product of Nauru was A$69.55 million in 2009, an increase of 40% increase from 2008. The GDP is broken down into three categories: primary (18.7%—agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing, mining, and quarrying), secondary (36.5%—manufacturing, electric, gas, water, and construction), and tertiary (44.8%—trade, hotel, restaurants, and various services) industries.

A majority of the population are employed in phosphate mining, public administration, education, and transportation. A detention centre was closed in 2008, which caused the unemployment rate to rise to 30%, and approximately ten percent of the population relied on working at the centre. The centre reopened in 2012 and currently serves 1,162 prisoners, as of May 2014. During the 1990s, Nauru was famous for operating offshore banks, helping with money laundering. The United States State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report estimated there were 400 offshore finance centres laundering an estimated $70 billion.

Phosphate mining in Nauru originally made Nauru the richest per capita nation in the world. In 1968, the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) was created to invest profits from mining, so Nauru would have money after the mining was exhausted. The owners of the trust purchased a fleet of ships and aircraft, a brewery in the Solomon Islands, hotels around the world, and real estate in Australia, the United States and Britain, which causes the trust to bankrupt. Phosphate exports peaked in 1973 with 2.3 million tonnes, but has decreased to 0.2 million tonnes in 2001. In 2006, mining of a secondary layer of phosphate began.