Nauru, the world's 3rd-smallest country, changes its name to Naoero
✓FILE - Nauru President David Adeang speaks at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum of Asia, in Boao in southern China's Hainan province on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Tian Macleod Ji/AP hide caption
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Tian Macleod Ji/AP
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language.
The country's international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero.
The move would return the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name, a statement posted Thursday to the government's Facebook account said. The country became known internationally as Nauru only because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was a matter of convenience rather than one of choice, according to an earlier government statement.
"This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation's heritage, our language, and our identity," President David Adeang said when he proposed the move to Parliament in January. The suggested constitutional amendment has been endorsed by lawmakers in the requisite two rounds of voting, though it wasn't immediately clear if the document had been formally amended.
With 12,000 residents, Nauru is the world's third-smallest country by population size, after Tuvalu and Vatican City. The tiny coral limestone atoll was colonized by Germany and later administered by Australia before becoming an independent republic in 1968.
It has faced tumultuous circumstances, with phosphate mining creating huge wealth on the island in the 1970s before the industry collapsed, bringing Nauru to the brink of economic ruin in the 1990s.
Now, the country is one of the world's most at risk from rising seas due to climate change, prompting the government to seek overseas investment through a paid citizenship program intended to fund the movement of people and infrastructure away from the encroaching ocean.
The name change indicated "the beginning of renewed national pride," Adeang said in his latest announcement. When his government last voted for the move in May, the president announced a referendum to confirm it.
The government said in last week's statement that after "extensive discussions," lawmakers had decided a public vote wasn't needed.
"While a referendum is intended to determine the will of the people, the name Naoero has never been lost, but rather waiting to be fully embraced," the statement said.
The designation "is already the identity of the people, is on the national coat of arms, and spoken in the community; and importantly is allowed by the Constitution," it added.
The move makes the country the latest to signal a shift away from a colonial past by changing its name. The tiny African kingdom of Eswatini reverted to its historic name from Swaziland in 2018. Other countries have sought the switch as a sort of rebrand, as Turkey did when Ankara asked the United Nations in 2022 to begin calling the country Türkiye, which the nation had long gone by at home.
Nauru's decision will prompt the renaming of its national aircraft and ships. The government was already seeking to have other countries and international institutions recognize the shift, its statement said.
The website of the United Nations records the country by its new name, noting the government had requested it be changed in June. Australia and New Zealand's foreign ministries as well as the U.S. and Chinese embassies in the region also designate the country as Naoero on their websites.
Read the full story at NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗
The Pacific island nation of Nauru has formally changed its official name to the Republic of Naoero, restoring the spelling and pronunciation used in the national language. The country code shifts from NRU to NRO. President David Adeang proposed the change to Parliament in January, citing the importance of honoring the nation's heritage and identity. Parliamentary approval came through the required two rounds of voting. The government determined a public referendum unnecessary, reasoning that Naoero has remained the people's identity despite the international designation of Nauru. Major international entities including the UN, Australia, New Zealand, and the US and Chinese embassies have already begun using the new name. The change reflects broader patterns of nations reconsidering colonial-era designations, similar to Eswatini's 2018 reversion from Swaziland and Turkey's 2022 request to be called Türkiye internationally.
Read the full story at NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗
FILE - Nauru President David Adeang speaks at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum of Asia, in Boao in southern China's Hainan province on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Tian Macleod Ji/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Tian Macleod Ji/AP
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language.
The country's international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero.
The move would return the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name, a statement posted Thursday to the government's Facebook account said. The country became known internationally as Nauru only because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was a matter of convenience rather than one of choice, according to an earlier government statement.
"This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation's heritage, our language, and our identity," President David Adeang said when he proposed the move to Parliament in January. The suggested constitutional amendment has been endorsed by lawmakers in the requisite two rounds of voting, though it wasn't immediately clear if the document had been formally amended.
With 12,000 residents, Nauru is the world's third-smallest country by population size, after Tuvalu and Vatican City. The tiny coral limestone atoll was colonized by Germany and later administered by Australia before becoming an independent republic in 1968.
It has faced tumultuous circumstances, with phosphate mining creating huge wealth on the island in the 1970s before the industry collapsed, bringing Nauru to the brink of economic ruin in the 1990s.
Now, the country is one of the world's most at risk from rising seas due to climate change, prompting the government to seek overseas investment through a paid citizenship program intended to fund the movement of people and infrastructure away from the encroaching ocean.
The name change indicated "the beginning of renewed national pride," Adeang said in his latest announcement. When his government last voted for the move in May, the president announced a referendum to confirm it.
The government said in last week's statement that after "extensive discussions," lawmakers had decided a public vote wasn't needed.
"While a referendum is intended to determine the will of the people, the name Naoero has never been lost, but rather waiting to be fully embraced," the statement said.
The designation "is already the identity of the people, is on the national coat of arms, and spoken in the community; and importantly is allowed by the Constitution," it added.
The move makes the country the latest to signal a shift away from a colonial past by changing its name. The tiny African kingdom of Eswatini reverted to its historic name from Swaziland in 2018. Other countries have sought the switch as a sort of rebrand, as Turkey did when Ankara asked the United Nations in 2022 to begin calling the country Türkiye, which the nation had long gone by at home.
Nauru's decision will prompt the renaming of its national aircraft and ships. The government was already seeking to have other countries and international institutions recognize the shift, its statement said.
The website of the United Nations records the country by its new name, noting the government had requested it be changed in June. Australia and New Zealand's foreign ministries as well as the U.S. and Chinese embassies in the region also designate the country as Naoero on their websites.
Read the full story at NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero The country code will change from NRU to NRO Citizens will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan The new name is pronounced Now-ero, previously commonly known abroad as Now-roo President David Adeang proposed the change to Parliament in January The amendment was endorsed through two required parliamentary votes The government decided a public referendum was unnecessary Nauru has 12,000 residents and is the world's third-smallest country by population The country became known internationally as Nauru due to difficulty with the local pronunciation This change reflects renewed national pride and a restoration of heritage The move represents a shift away from colonial naming practices
Read the full story at NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗
- Nauru officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, aligning its international designation with the nation's traditional and locally-spoken name
- The country code will change from NRU to NRO, and citizens will be known as dei-Naoero rather than Nauruan
- Parliament endorsed the constitutional amendment through two required votes; the government decided a public referendum was unnecessary
- The shift reflects efforts to restore national heritage and distance from colonial naming conventions that treated the local pronunciation as a foreign inconvenience