Nauru: Smallest Island Nation

Nauru, the world's smallest island nation and third-smallest country overall, is a cautionary tale of resource depletion. Phosphate mining made Nauruans among the world's wealthiest per capita in the 1970s, but strip-mining destroyed 80% of the island, leaving environmental devastation and economic collapse.

The island's interior is a wasteland of limestone pinnacles from exhausted phosphate mines. Nauru has no capital city, with government offices in Yaren District. The country lacks natural fresh water, depending on desalination and rainwater. Obesity rates are among the world's highest due to imported processed foods replacing traditional diet.

After phosphate wealth ended, Nauru became dependent on Australian aid and hosting detention center for asylum seekers. The country has attempted various schemes including offshore banking. Environmental rehabilitation seems impossible with current technology. Nauru represents how unsustainable resource extraction can devastate small island nations.