Economy - overview Revenues come from the export of phosphates, the reserves of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000. Phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, but incomes probably will drop sharply in the future. Few other resources exist, so most necessities must be imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. Substantial amounts of phosphate income are invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition. However, dividends from the trusts have declined sharply since 1990 and the government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. In an effort to stem further escalation of fiscal problems, the government has called for a freeze on wages for two years, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, drastic cutbacks in hiring new government staff, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates.

GDP purchasing power parity - $100 million (1993 est.)

GDP - real growth rate NA%

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $10,000 (1993 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index -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, financial services, coconut products

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - capacity 10,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 30 million kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 2,956 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products coconuts predominate

Exports
total value: $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities: phosphates
partners: Australia, NZ

Imports
total value: $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
partners: Australia, UK, NZ, Japan

Debt - external $33.3 million

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)

Currency 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.5281 (January 1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993)

Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Nauru on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nauru Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nauru Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.