The island state of Nauru, located approximately 1,800 miles northeast of New Guinea, is the smallest island nation in the world. Around 11,000 people are spread across the mere 8-square-mile expanse of land in the Pacific Ocean, but it holds the title for a number of “world’s smallest” achievements. Nauru is also the world’s smallest state in the South Pacific Ocean, the world’s smallest state outside of Europe, and the world’s smallest republic.
Nauru gained independence from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia in 1968, and for a while its citizens had the highest per capita income in the world (thanks to phosphate exports).
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