---
title: "Nauru — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Nauru: capital Yaren (de facto), area 21 km², population 12,025 (2025), currency Australian dollar. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/nauru/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Nauru

**Nauru: Capital Yaren (de facto)**

21 km² · 12,025 people (2025) · Australian dollar

The third-smallest country in the world at about 21 km², and the smallest island nation; a road runs right around it in about twenty minutes. It has no official capital. The central plateau was mined for phosphate rock — fossil seabird guano — for most of the 20th century.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Yaren (de facto)
- **Area:** 21 km² — 8 sq mi
- **Population:** 12,025 (2025)
- **Density:** 572.6 people per km²
- **Currency:** Australian dollar (AUD, $)
- **Official languages:** Nauruan, English
- **Time zone:** UTC+12:00
- **Calling code:** +674
- **Drives on the:** left
- **ISO codes:** NR · NRU
- **Continent:** Oceania

## How it compares

- **By area:** 198 of 200
- **By population:** 198 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| San Marino | 61 | 34,109 |
| Tuvalu | 26 | 9,492 |
| Nauru ← | 21 | 12,025 |
| Monaco | 2 | 38,341 |
| Vatican City | 0.44 | 1,000 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Nauru?

Yaren (de facto)

### What currency does Nauru use?

The Australian dollar (AUD).

### How big is Nauru?

21 km², or 8 square miles — 198 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Nauru drive on?

The left.

## Related pages

- [San Marino](https://atoneplace.net/country/san-marino/)
- [Tuvalu](https://atoneplace.net/country/tuvalu/)
- [Monaco](https://atoneplace.net/country/monaco/)
- [Vatican City](https://atoneplace.net/country/vatican-city/)
- [Australia](https://atoneplace.net/country/australia/)
- [Papua New Guinea](https://atoneplace.net/country/papua-new-guinea/)
- [New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/)
- [Fiji](https://atoneplace.net/country/fiji/)
- [Solomon Islands](https://atoneplace.net/country/solomon-islands/)
- [Vanuatu](https://atoneplace.net/country/vanuatu/)
- [Samoa](https://atoneplace.net/country/samoa/)
- [Kiribati](https://atoneplace.net/country/kiribati/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]