Cambodia (2001) | Nauru (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural); Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb*, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pailin*, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu* (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
41.25% (male 2,626,821; female 2,526,510) 15-64 years: 55.28% (male 3,253,611; female 3,651,129) 65 years and over: 3.47% (male 177,577; female 255,853) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.5% (male 2,511/female 2,379)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 3,895/female 4,012) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 132/female 119) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables | coconuts |
Airports | 19 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
181,040 sq km land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oklahoma | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Following a five-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 33.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$363 million expenditures: $532 million, including capital expenditures of $225 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Phnom Penh | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 443 km | 30 km |
Constitution | promulgated 21 September 1993 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Kampuchea Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | riel (KHR) | - |
Death rate | 10.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $829 million (1999 est.) | $33.3 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kent M. WIEDEMANN embassy: 16-18 Mongkol lem St. 228, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Roland ENG chancery: 4500 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | portions of boundary with Vietnam are disputed; parts of border with Thailand are indefinite | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-98 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and growth resumed at 4%. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach 5.5%, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the year is estimated at only 4%. Tourism is Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. 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. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. 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. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 136.7 million kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 147 million kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
59.18% hydro: 40.82% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998 | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | riels per US dollar - 3,909.0 (January 2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4 (1998), 2,946.3 (1997), 2,624.1 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993) head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 30 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; prime minister appointed by the monarch after a vote of confidence by the National Assembly |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | $942 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | timber, garments, rubber, rice, fish | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Vietnam 18%, Thailand 15%, US 10%, Singapore 8%, China 5% (1997) | South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 20% services: 37% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 105 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
35,769 km paved: 4,165 km unpaved: 31,604 km (1997) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 33.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | possible money laundering; narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | cigarettes, gold, construction materials, petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Thailand 16%, Vietnam 9%, Japan 7%, Hong Kong 5%, China 5% (1997) | Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 9 November 1953 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | garments, tourism, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 65.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2000 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 920 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 6 million (1998 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1999 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total:
2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 66% other: 10% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law in recent years | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral consists of the National Assembly (122 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2003); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 41%, FUNCINPEC 32%, SRP 14%, other 13%; seats by party - CPP 64, FUNCINPEC 43, SRP 15; Senate - seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.82 years male: 54.62 years female: 59.12 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.73 years
male: 59.16 years female: 66.48 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22% (1990 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,305,932 GRT/1,853,487 DWT ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 237, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, container 8, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 3, South Korea 1, Malta 1, Panama 1, Russia 1, Singapore 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), including Army, Navy, and Air Force - created in 1993 by the merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two noncommunist resistance armies
note: Khmer Rouge and royalist insurgent forces were integrated into the RCAF in 1999 |
no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY01 est.) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (FY01 est.) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,877,137 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,610,761 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
162,643 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Buddhist Liberal Party or BLP [IENG MOULY]; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party or CPP [CHEA SIM]; Khmer Citizen Party or KCP [NGUON SOEUR]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP (formerly Khmer Nation Party or KNP) [SAM RANGSI] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 12,491,501
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
13,048 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36% (1997 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.25% (2001 est.) | 1.83% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1999) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.34 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
603 km narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge |
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Religions | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; rural areas have little telephone service domestic: NA international: adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,800 (mid-1998) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 80,000 (2000) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 4.74 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.8% (1999 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 3,700 km
note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m |
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