Pacific island nation of Nauru has
officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero
¨
Pacific island nation of
Nauru has officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero.
¨
The name change was
confirmed by President David Adeang on 31 July 2026 after the country’s
parliament passed a constitutional amendment in May 2026.
¨
Naoero is the indigenous
name of the island, while Nauru is considered a colonial alteration of the
original name.
¨
The government abandoned
plans for a national referendum and recognized Naoero as the existing identity
of the people rather than a new name requiring public approval.
¨
The official short name
of the country is now Naoero.
¨
The country code has been
changed to NRO, and citizens are referred to as dei-Naoero.
¨
The United Nations
received formal notification of the name change on 26 June 2026 and has started
updating its official records.
¨
The renaming is closely
linked with the preservation of the Nauruan language, also known as dorerin
Naoero.
¨
UNESCO classifies the
Nauruan language as severely endangered, indicating very limited transmission
of the language between generations.
¨
Naoero has a population
of around 12,000 people and remains the third-smallest country in the world
after Vatican City and Monaco.
¨
It is a sovereign island
republic located in the central Pacific Ocean.
¨
Naoero (formerly Nauru)
is a single-island country in the Micronesia region.
¨
The country covers an
area of approximately 21 square kilometres.
¨
Naoero has no official
capital city, although government offices are located in the Yaren District.
¨
The country is a member
of the United Nations and uses the Australian dollar as its currency.
¨
Its political system is a
parliamentary republic, with the president serving as both the head of state
and head of government.
The name change represents an important step towards preserving indigenous culture, language, and national identity of the people of Naoero
