With a land area of only 8.1 square miles, it is the smallest country in the world after Vatican City and Monaco.
Its population of about 10,000 makes it the world’s smallest republic, as well as the smallest island nation. It has no rivers or streams and virtually all of its water, food, and manufactured goods have to be imported. There are no harbors or protected anchorages, and no sizable arable land fit for farming. Nauru has no official capital.