The Republic of Nauru became independent from Australia on this day 43 years ago, with Hammer DeRoburt becoming the founding president. As a small island nation with a population of around 14,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres, Nauru is the smallest independent republic in the world. The country’s main source of income has historically been through mining of its substantial phosphate rock deposits.
The island was annexed by Germany in 1888, phosphate was discovered in 1900, and the first exports of mined phosphate started in 1907. After the first world war, Nauru became a protectorate of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and the mining rights were taken over by the British Phosphate Commission. Following independence, the mining rights passed to the Nauru Phosphate Corporation.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nauru had the highest per capita income of any sovereign state in the world. However, the phosphate resources became depleted and, as a result of poor investments, mismanagement and fraud, the assets of the trust fund managing the island’s wealth were dissipated, and the country has incurred debts of more than 10 times GDP, relying on donor support, primarily from Australia, for almost all of its government budget.