|
Nauru had 9,378 residents as of July 2011.[1] The population was previously larger, but in 2006 some 1,500 people left the island during a repatriation of immigrant workers from Kiribati and Tuvalu. The repatriation was motivated by wide-scale reductions-in-force in the phosphate mining industry.[2] The official language of Nauru is Nauruan, a distinct Pacific island language, which is spoken by 96 percent of ethnic Nauruans at home.[2] English is widely spoken and is the language of government and commerce, as Nauruan is not common outside of the country.[1][39] The top ethnic groups of Nauru are Nauruan (58%), other Pacific Islander (26%), European (8%), and Chinese (8%).[1] The main religion practised on the island is Christianity (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic).[39] There is also a sizeable Bahá'í population (10%) – the largest proportion of any country in the world[73] – and Buddhist (9%) and Muslim (2.2%) populations. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion. However, the government has restricted the religious practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses, most of whom are foreign workers employed by the government-owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation.[74] Nauruan residents walking around Nauru International Airport. Nauruans are amongst the most obese people in the world.[75] Literacy on Nauru is 96 percent. Education is compulsory for children from six to sixteen years old, and two more non-compulsory years are offered (years 11 and 12).[76] There is a campus of the University of the South Pacific on Nauru. Before this campus was built in 1987, students would study either by distance or abroad.[77] Nauruans are the most obese people in the world: 97 percent of men and 93 percent of women are overweight or obese.[75] As a result, Nauru has the world's highest level of type 2 diabetes, with more than 40 per cent of the population affected.[78] Other significant dietary-related problems on Nauru include kidney disease and heart disease. Life expectancy on Nauru in 2009 was 60.6 years for males and 68.0 years for females.[79] Culture Main article: Culture of Nauru Nauruans descended from Polynesian and Micronesian seafarers who believed in a female deity, Eijebong, and a spirit land, an island called Buitani. Two of the 12 original tribal groups became extinct in the 20th century.[39] Angam Day, held on 26 October, celebrates the recovery of the Nauruan population after the two World Wars and the 1920 influenza epidemic.[80] The displacement of the indigenous culture by colonial and contemporary Western influences is significant.[81] Few of the old customs have been preserved, but some forms of traditional music, arts and crafts, and fishing are still practised.[82] Australian rules football, played at Linkbelt Oval There are no daily news publications on Nauru, although there is one fortnightly publication, Mwinen Ko. There is a state-owned television station, Nauru Television (NTV), which broadcasts programmes from New Zealand and Australia, and a state-owned non-commercial radio station, Radio Nauru, which carries programmes from Radio Australia and the BBC.[83] Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Nauru; it and weightlifting are considered the country's national sports. There is a football league with eight teams.[84] Other sports popular in Nauru include volleyball, netball, fishing and tennis. Nauru participates in the Commonwealth Games and the Summer Olympic Games.[85] Wildlife Fauna is sparse on the island due to a combination of a lack of vegetation and the consequences of phosphates mining. Many indigenous birds have disappeared or become rare owing to destruction of their habitat.[86] There are only about 60 recorded vascular plant species native to the island, none of which are endemic. Coconut farming, mining, and introduced species have caused serious disturbance to the native vegetation.[4] There are no native land mammals, but there are native insects, land crabs, and birds, including the endemic Nauru Reed Warbler. The Polynesian rat, cats, dogs, pigs, and chickens have been introduced to Nauru from ships.[87] The diversity of the reef marine life makes fishing a popular activity for tourists on the island, as well as SCUBA diving and snorkelling.[88] |
About us|Jobs|Help|Disclaimer|Advertising services|Contact us|Sign in|Website map|Search|
GMT+8, 2015-9-11 20:43 , Processed in 0.161370 second(s), 16 queries .
