Once one of the richest places on Earth now at the brink of collapse!
Nauru, a tiny island country in Oceania (northeast of Australia) was once one of the richest places on Earth. In the 1960s, it had the highest per capita GDP for a brief period. The entire island got richer by exporting phosphorous. 80% of the island was rich in phosphate at that time.
Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation. There are no harbors or protected anchorages.
It has no World Heritage Sites, and neither are there any rivers. The roads on the island country are 30kms.
The Chubbiest Nation on Earth
As per CIA’s World Factbook around 61% of its 10,000 residents are obese. The adults there weigh four times the global average adult. Islanders claim they are genetically predisposed to putting on weight.
Nauru is Australia’s off-shore asylum. In 2001, it accepted the Australian government’s offer to host an offshore asylum processing center. Having done so, Australia now provides about two-thirds of Nauru’s GDP of $170m.
It has one of the highest, 47% of adults, smoking rate. Highest rate of type 2 diabetes affecting 40% of the population. And is now threatened by the rising sea level.
British Whaler John Fearm is known to drop an anchor in Nauru in 1798. Impressed by the island, he called it ‘Pleasant Island’; surrounded by coral reefs, it offered better conditions for diving and snorkeling.