Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of Oceania in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati, about 300 km (190 mi) to the east.
Photo of a Nauruan warrior during the Nauruan Civil War around 1880
U.S. Army Air Forces bombing the Japanese airstrip on Nauru, 1943.
Aerial view of Nauru
Parliament of Nauru
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates have focused on identifying qualitative features that are linked to their size and population, such as partial delegation of their sovereignty to larger states, such as for international defense.
Vatican City, the smallest independent country in Europe with 0.44 km2 (110 acres), is also the smallest in the world
St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean Sea, the smallest independent country in the Americas with 261 km2 (101 sq mi).
Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the smallest independent country in Africa with 459 km2 (177 sq mi)
Maldives in the Indian Ocean, the smallest independent country in Asia with an area of 298 km2 (115 sq mi)