Nauru, a small island covering an area of just 21 square km in the Pacific Ocean, is one of the phosphate islands of the respective belt apart from Markatea Island in the French Polynesian region and Banaba in Kiribati. It is the home of a small population of about 8600 people. Amongst them approximately 7600 are natives. The rest of the population of the island comprises mostly of Australians and Chinese. A large chunk of the population is found to inhabit the coastal areas.
Phosphate mining formed the basis of Nauru's economy for a long period of time. Phosphate is also an export commodity and is mainly exported to New Zealand, Australia, India, Republic of Korea and Philippines. Perpetual mining however exhausted the natural reserves of phosphate and adversely affected marine life as well as the productivity of agricultural lands. The decline of this staple activity propelled recourse to horticulture and fishing.
As a result of its proximity to the sea, Nauru enjoys a tropical climate for most part of the year. The weather is pleasant and day time temperatures soar to a maximum of 35 degrees Celsius.
Nauru is a republican state and is one of the smallest democracies in the world.
The Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia is the largest cave in the world is 2300 feet (701 meters) long, 1300 feet (400 meters) wide, and more than 230 feet (70 meters) high.
