Nauru

Nauru is a member of the Micronesian Games Council and participated in various editions of the Games with strong performances in athletics and weightlifting.

It will be preparing and sending a contingent to the Majuro 2022 Micronesian Games.

To appreciate the sporting community and the work of the Nauru National Olympic Committee which takes on the role of athlete preparation, it is important to understand Nauru’s history and development as a Small Island Development State (SIDS) in the Pacific Ocean.  

Nauru is a small island with a total land area of 21 sq. km and is the third-smallest country in the world. It was annexed by Germany in 1888 and phosphate mining began in the early 20th century by a German-British consortium. Australia occupied Nauru in World War I, after which it was mandated by the League of Nations. It was taken by Japan in World War II but became a UN Trust Territory at its end. It gained independence in 1968.

Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world per capita because of its phosphate but this was depleted by the 1980s. Mining of its primary phosphate stock halted in 2006 but transition into mining a secondary layer began in 2007, and is expected to last about 30 years (hence running out by 2037). Phosphate mining has rendered 90% of the island unsuitable for farming so human settlement and subsistence agriculture occurs on coastal fringes. Its economic products include phosphate and fish but the opening of the Australian Regional Processing Centre for asylum seekers since 2012 is its main economic lifeline. This is supplemented by revenue by fishing licenses under the ‘Vessel Day Scheme’.

The country’s export commodity remains phosphate. Its chief imports are food, fuel (energy), building material and machinery.

Nauru’s core challenges are the rehabilitation of its mined land, the prospect of secondary layers of phosphate depleting, climate change, sea level rise, obesity, limited water, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and droughts.

The fact that the NNOC has produced world class athletes in weightlifting and continues to spur growth of interest in the sport and in physical activity is a huge milestone.  

The national context also underscores the critical importance of the work that Nauru is undertaking in promoting sport, physical activity, and health, particularly among its youth. This whole background and its current work is the bedrock that permits it to be an active member of the Micronesian Games.