This Day in History - January 31

 

Nauru, World's Smallest Island Nation, Gains Independence
January 31, 1968

Annexed by Germany in 1888, controlled by Great Britain since World War I, occupied by Japan during World War II, and administered by Australia until the late 1960s, the tiny, phosphate-rich island of Nauru flourished in the years following its independence—boasting the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, after the island exhausted its primary phosphate reserves, living conditions deteriorated. To earn income, the government resorted to unusual measures—from briefly becoming a tax haven and illegal money laundering centre to accepting aid from the Australian government in exchange for housing a Nauru detention center.  From December 2005 to September 2006, Nauru became partially isolated from the outside world when Air Nauru, the only airline with service to the island, ceased to operate. The only outside access to Nauru was then by ocean-going ships. The airline restarted operations with monetary aid from the Republic of China.  Today, it has a 90 percent unemployment rate, and much of the island is uninhabitable.