Nauru profile

Demography and Health

Nauru is an exceptionally small population country. In 2024, the total population stood at 11,947 people, with a population ranking of 215 among nations, underscoring its status as one of the world’s smallest sovereign communities. The demographic dynamics show a relatively high birth rate for a small state, at 25.5 births per 1,000 people in 2023, paired with a crude death rate of 7.52 per 1,000 in the same year. Life expectancy at birth is 62.1 years in 2023, reflecting health outcomes that are modest by global standards and point to ongoing challenges in extending longevity, access to care, and disease prevention in a remote microstate. Child mortality remains a concern, with under-5 mortality reported at 8.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023, a rate that signals room for improvement in maternal and child health services. The nation also faces net outward migration in 2024, with a net migration figure of -121 people, suggesting a gradual loss of residents that could impact future labor supply, skills retention, and demographic structure. On the labor market, unemployment is recorded at 5.06% for 2021, a relatively moderate rate given the small economy, but the figure should be interpreted cautiously due to its age and the country’s unique employment dynamics. Health financing shows a strong public role: current health expenditure accounts for 18.2% of GDP in 2022, and domestic general government health expenditure per capita, measured in PPP terms, is 2,239 international dollars in 2022, indicating a substantial public health commitment relative to the country’s scale. Taken together, these health indicators suggest a health system under pressure from demographic and geographic constraints but with a policy emphasis on public funding for health services despite limited resources and scale.

Economy

Economically, Nauru operates a very small, open economy with a per-capita income profile that belies the fragility of its aggregate size. In 2024, GDP per capita stood at 13,422 current US dollars, while GDP per capita, purchasing power parity (PPP) was 14,327 international dollars, reflecting a high level of per-person income on a tiny population base. This combination yields a sense of relatively high material living standards on a per-person basis, even though the national economy is minuscule in absolute size. The economy is highly exposed to external forces, as evidenced by the structure of trade: imports of goods and services sum to 119% of GDP in 2024, while exports of goods and services represent 39.5% of GDP. This stark imbalance points to a pronounced reliance on external inputs—food, fuel, and manufactured goods—despite some export activity, which is typical of small island economies with limited domestic production capacity. The current account balance stands at 1.27% of GDP in 2023, indicating a modest surplus or net positive flow that helps fund import needs from external sources, though the risk profile remains sensitive to shifts in external financing or commodity prices. On the energy front, renewable energy consumption is still very low, at 1.9% of total final energy consumption in 2022, highlighting a heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels and a correspondingly higher exposure to energy price volatility and supply security concerns. The country’s emissions intensity per capita is also very low, with total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF at 0.101 tonnes CO2e per capita in 2023, which largely reflects limited industrial activity and a small population footprint rather than a lack of environmental concern. Taken together, the economic picture is of a highly open, small-scale economy that benefits from public health and governance inputs but remains vulnerable to external shocks due to its trade structure and energy dependence.

Trade and Investment

Trade and investment in Nauru are characterized by an extreme smallness of the economy, with export activity contributing a moderate share of GDP while import needs dominate the external sector. Exports of goods and services accounted for 39.5% of GDP in 2024, indicating that while there is some export activity, it represents a modest fraction of overall economic activity and is unlikely to fully offset the country’s import requirements. Imports of goods and services, however, aggregate to a substantial 119% of GDP in 2024, underscoring the country’s dependence on external sources for essential goods, energy, and consumer products. This profile suggests a highly import-reliant domestic market that must continually secure external financing, aid, or concessional arrangements to sustain consumption and investment. The positive current account balance of 1.27% of GDP in 2023 helps temper funding needs, but the large import footprint means that any disruption in external flows or financing could quickly affect stability. Given the tiny population and limited domestic capacity, investment is typically oriented toward maintenance of essential services, exploitation of any available resource rents, or targeted development programs funded by external partners. Policy-makers likely prioritize attracting concessional investment and ensuring reliable energy and supply chains to maintain social and economic resilience in the face of external shocks.

Governance and Institutions

On governance and institutional quality, Nauru demonstrates a mixed but generally stable political climate with notable strengths and weaknesses. Political stability and absence of violence or terrorism score 0.977 in 2023, ranking 29, signaling a high level of political steadiness and low exposure to political violence—an important context for security and development planning. Regulatory quality is near neutral at 0.00959 (rank 91), and the rule of law is slightly negative at -0.0184 (rank 91), suggesting that while the country maintains policy continuity, formal constraints on government actions and the strength of legal frameworks could be constrained by capacity challenges and small-scale governance structures. Control of corruption sits at 0.589 (rank 54) in 2023, indicating some positive perceptions of anti-corruption efforts, though not uniformly strong; government effectiveness is weak at -0.0678 (rank 98), pointing to limited administrative capacity and implementation efficiency. This juxtaposition—strong political stability with uneven institutional quality—implies that while voters and communities enjoy continuity and predictability, the machinery of governance faces constraints in policy execution and rule-of-law enforcement. These dynamics have implications for public service delivery, regulatory reform, and investment climate, where clear rules and reliable institutions are critical for long-term growth even in a small state context.

Infrastructure and Technology

Infrastructure and technological development in Nauru are shaped by its tiny population, geographic isolation, and energy profile. The data show a steep energy characteristic: renewable energy constitutes only 1.9% of total final energy consumption in 2022, signaling a reliance on imported fossil fuels for electricity and other energy needs. This low share of renewables suggests substantial headroom for decarbonization and energy security improvements but also underscores the vulnerability of the energy system to external price shocks and supply disruptions. The small scale of the economy implies limited domestic production capacity for infrastructure construction, maintenance, and advanced technologies, which can constrain digital connectivity, transport networks, and service delivery. With a population of 11,947 in 2024, planning for scalable, cost-effective infrastructure is challenging; recovery and resilience depend on targeted investments, efficient procurement, and sustained external support. The combination of modest health expenditure per capita and high reliance on external inputs for daily life reinforces the importance of stable infrastructure investment to support health services, education, and economic activity in a remote setting, where logistics and maintenance costs are magnified by geography.

Environment and Sustainability

Environmental indicators for Nauru reflect a small, resource-constrained economy with low per-capita emissions and limited industrial activity. Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita are 0.101 tonnes CO2e per person in 2023, among the lowest levels globally, which aligns with a minimal industrial footprint and constrained energy consumption. Renewable energy share remains low (1.9% of final energy consumption in 2022), signaling substantial reliance on diesel or imported fossil fuels and indicating potential vulnerability to energy price fluctuations and climate policy shifts. The combination of low per-capita emissions and a small population implies a relatively small climate footprint on a per-person basis, but it also emphasizes the environmental and energy policy priorities: diversifying energy sources, reducing import dependency, and building resilience to external shocks. The environmental trajectory for Nauru will likely hinge on investments in renewable capacity, grid modernization, and energy efficiency, balanced against the fiscal and logistical realities of a microstate economy. Taken together, these environmental indicators illustrate both a minimal current climate impact at the per-capita level and substantial opportunities for sustainable development through energy transition and resilient infrastructure planning.