Economy of Nauru

Economy of Nauru

Limestone pinnacles remain after phosphate mining removed the guano at one of Nauru's secondary mines
Currency	Australian dollar (A$ or AUD)
Fiscal year	1 July – 30 June
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] Upper-middle income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	12,511 (2021)[3]
GDP	$0.135billion (nominal, 2021)[4] $0.164 billion (PPP, 2021)[5]
GDP rank	214th (nominal) / 223rd (PPP)
GDP growth	5.7% (2018) 1% (2019) 0.7% (2020) 1.6% (2021) 0.9% (2022) 2% (2023e)[6]
GDP per capita	$10,648 (nominal, 2021.)[7] $13,125 (PPP, 2021.)[8]
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 6.1%, industry: 33%, services: 60.8% (2009 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	1.7% (2021 est.)[9]
Unemployment	25% (2011)[10]
Main industries	Phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
External
Exports	US$135 million (2015 est.)[11]
Export goods	fish, calcium phosphates, low-voltage protection equipment, air conditioners, leather apparel[11]
Main export partners	Thailand(+) 34%  Australia(-) 16%  United States(+) 13%  South Korea(+) 10%  Philippines(+) 9%  Japan(+) 7%  France(+) 5%  Spain(+) 4% [11]
Imports	US$64.9 million (2016 est.)[11]
Import goods	refined petroleum, construction vehicles, tug boats, poultry meats, cars[11]
Main import partners	Taiwan(+) 52%  Australia(-) 28% [11]
Gross external debt	US$33.3 million (2004 est.)[11]
Public finances
Government debt	62% of GDP (2017 est.)[11]
Revenues	US$103 million (2017 est.)[11]
Expenses	US$113.4 million (2017 est.)[11]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Nauru is tiny, based on a population in 2019 of only 11,550 people.^[12] The economy has historically been based on phosphate mining. With primary phosphate reserves exhausted by the end of the 2010s, Nauru has sought to diversify its sources of income. In 2020, Nauru's main sources of income were the sale of fishing rights in Nauru's territorial waters, and revenue from the Regional Processing Centre^[13] (an offshore Australian immigration detention facility).

Nauru is dependent on foreign aid, chiefly from Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand.