Country or area · Micronesia (region) · Oceania · UN WPP 2024

Nauru population

Nauru population now

12,120

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 11,479–12,784.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 11,875

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 12,096; 95% range, 31 Dec: 11,479–12,784
Median age: 21.2
Aged 65+: 3.2%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 5 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

NRU · 1950–2100 · in brief

Nauru in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 11,875 people in Nauru: the 227th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and less than 0.01% of the world's people. That is 3.5 times its 1950 population of 3,407.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 20,664. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 6,439 to 125 thousand.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 19.8 in 1950 and 21.4 in 2023; the projection has 35.4 in 2100. 2.7% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 12.2% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Its place in the world by population: 227th in 2023, 224th in 2050, 223rd in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes the Cook Islands in 2028, Anguilla in 2045 and Palau in 2050.

Population, mid-2023: 11,875
Rank by population, 2023: 227 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: less than 0.01%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +0.63% · +74 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 594
Land area, 2023: 20.0 km²
Births, 2023: 303
Deaths, 2023: 89
Net migration, 2023: −148
Children per woman, 2023: 3.33
Median age, 2023: 21.4 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 62.1 years
In a city, 2025: 0 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 3,407
Projected, mid-2050: 15,758
Projected, mid-2100: 20,664

NRU · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections025 k50 k75 k100 k125 k1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Nauru, 1950–2100

Nauru: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	3,355		102	59	4.60	56.6
1951	estimate	3,459		104	57	4.64	56.8
1952	estimate	3,562		107	56	4.71	57.0
1953	estimate	3,653		110	55	4.79	57.2
1954	estimate	3,736		113	54	4.88	57.4
1955	estimate	3,823		116	53	4.96	57.5
1956	estimate	3,946		119	53	5.03	57.6
1957	estimate	4,096		121	53	5.09	57.7
1958	estimate	4,220		123	53	5.17	57.8
1959	estimate	4,374		124	53	5.27	57.9
1960	estimate	4,533		124	53	5.34	57.9
1961	estimate	4,682		122	52	5.38	58.0
1962	estimate	4,865		127	53	5.42	58.0
1963	estimate	5,092		141	54	5.44	58.1
1964	estimate	5,361		156	55	5.47	58.2
1965	estimate	5,668		170	57	5.48	58.3
1966	estimate	5,995		181	58	5.41	58.4
1967	estimate	6,092		174	57	5.29	58.6
1968	estimate	6,177		172	57	5.14	58.6
1969	estimate	6,479		124	52	4.94	58.4
1970	estimate	6,683		101	52	4.74	58.5
1971	estimate	6,736		103	53	4.54	58.4
1972	estimate	6,788		106	54	4.36	58.4
1973	estimate	6,836		112	56	4.19	58.4
1974	estimate	6,896		120	58	4.07	58.3
1975	estimate	6,951		130	60	3.97	58.3
1976	estimate	7,024		142	63	3.90	58.2
1977	estimate	7,105		156	66	3.86	58.1
1978	estimate	7,221		182	71	3.84	58.3
1979	estimate	7,375		206	77	3.85	58.4
1980	estimate	7,560		227	82	3.88	58.5
1981	estimate	7,737		244	88	3.94	58.5
1982	estimate	7,941		256	93	3.99	58.6
1983	estimate	8,138		262	99	4.06	58.7
1984	estimate	8,295		266	100	4.11	58.7
1985	estimate	8,459		273	101	4.14	58.6
1986	estimate	8,643		279	101	4.15	58.6
1987	estimate	8,840		286	100	4.14	58.6
1988	estimate	9,052		293	98	4.11	58.7
1989	estimate	9,277		299	96	4.07	58.9
1990	estimate	9,504		305	92	4.02	59.1
1991	estimate	9,740		312	87	3.99	59.3
1992	estimate	9,960		318	82	3.95	59.5
1993	estimate	10,082		314	79	3.89	59.8
1994	estimate	10,122		307	78	3.84	60.0
1995	estimate	10,153		303	78	3.81	60.1
1996	estimate	10,176		299	78	3.77	60.1
1997	estimate	10,190		296	79	3.74	60.0
1998	estimate	10,204		293	79	3.68	59.9
1999	estimate	10,192		292	80	3.64	59.7
2000	estimate	10,182		287	80	3.54	59.6
2001	estimate	10,153		283	80	3.46	59.5
2002	estimate	10,108		280	79	3.40	59.4
2003	estimate	10,055		280	79	3.39	59.4
2004	estimate	10,063		283	80	3.38	59.4
2005	estimate	10,057		286	81	3.38	59.4
2006	estimate	10,041		292	82	3.40	59.4
2007	estimate	10,026		305	83	3.50	59.5
2008	estimate	10,014		323	83	3.67	59.7
2009	estimate	10,005		343	82	3.85	59.9
2010	estimate	10,027		363	82	4.02	60.1
2011	estimate	10,059		372	81	4.12	60.3
2012	estimate	10,136		371	80	4.12	60.5
2013	estimate	10,398		372	81	4.10	60.7
2014	estimate	10,636		373	82	4.08	60.8
2015	estimate	10,849		375	84	4.08	60.9
2016	estimate	11,059		374	85	4.03	61.0
2017	estimate	11,241		365	86	3.88	61.1
2018	estimate	11,407		352	87	3.68	61.2
2019	estimate	11,548		343	88	3.53	61.4
2020	estimate	11,626		334	88	3.47	61.5
2021	estimate	11,660		325	90	3.42	61.3
2022	estimate	11,757		314	88	3.38	61.9
2023	estimate	11,845		303	89	3.33	62.1
2024	estimate	11,905		293	90	3.29	62.3
2025	projection	11,988	11,790–12,179	289	92	3.25	62.4
2026	projection	12,063	11,642–12,476	286	93	3.21	62.6
2027	projection	12,140	11,479–12,784	285	95	3.16	62.8
2028	projection	12,249	11,297–13,177	287	97	3.12	62.9
2029	projection	12,343	11,096–13,564	290	99	3.08	63.1
2030	projection	12,461	10,902–13,985	294	101	3.05	63.2
2031	projection	12,581	10,681–14,441	299	103	3.01	63.4
2032	projection	12,714	10,485–14,876	303	105	2.98	63.5
2033	projection	12,849	10,268–15,326	307	107	2.95	63.6
2034	projection	12,995	10,090–15,847	311	110	2.92	63.8
2035	projection	13,150	9,934–16,395	314	112	2.89	63.9
2036	projection	13,317	9,746–17,050	317	114	2.86	64.0
2037	projection	13,466	9,554–17,699	321	116	2.83	64.2
2038	projection	13,624	9,334–18,416	323	119	2.80	64.3
2039	projection	13,779	9,216–19,187	326	121	2.77	64.4
2040	projection	13,947	8,987–19,915	329	123	2.75	64.6
2041	projection	14,131	8,898–20,821	331	125	2.72	64.7
2042	projection	14,313	8,720–21,427	332	127	2.70	64.8
2043	projection	14,495	8,630–22,327	332	129	2.67	65.0
2044	projection	14,667	8,534–23,144	332	131	2.65	65.1
2045	projection	14,843	8,478–23,873	330	133	2.63	65.2
2046	projection	15,012	8,360–24,539	328	135	2.61	65.3
2047	projection	15,188	8,250–25,454	326	137	2.58	65.4
2048	projection	15,358	8,040–26,404	324	139	2.56	65.6
2049	projection	15,518	8,008–27,245	322	141	2.55	65.7
2050	projection	15,683	7,822–27,924	320	144	2.53	65.8
2051	projection	15,833	7,652–28,716	319	146	2.51	66.0
2052	projection	15,993	7,564–29,409	317	148	2.49	66.1
2053	projection	16,137	7,450–30,348	316	150	2.48	66.2
2054	projection	16,278	7,413–31,195	315	152	2.46	66.3
2055	projection	16,415	7,396–32,018	314	154	2.44	66.4
2056	projection	16,554	7,316–32,656	313	156	2.42	66.6
2057	projection	16,694	7,199–33,694	313	158	2.41	66.7
2058	projection	16,823	7,081–34,399	313	161	2.39	66.8
2059	projection	16,954	6,988–35,441	313	163	2.38	66.9
2060	projection	17,077	6,900–36,440	313	165	2.36	67.0
2061	projection	17,207	6,827–37,158	313	167	2.34	67.2
2062	projection	17,341	6,617–38,529	314	169	2.33	67.3
2063	projection	17,463	6,566–39,613	314	171	2.31	67.4
2064	projection	17,587	6,420–40,684	315	173	2.29	67.5
2065	projection	17,715	6,394–41,670	315	175	2.28	67.6
2066	projection	17,841	6,453–44,040	316	176	2.27	67.7
2067	projection	17,962	6,357–45,405	317	178	2.26	67.9
2068	projection	18,105	6,267–46,717	317	180	2.25	68.0
2069	projection	18,225	6,148–47,863	317	182	2.24	68.1
2070	projection	18,332	6,252–49,106	317	183	2.23	68.2
2071	projection	18,470	6,262–50,932	316	185	2.21	68.3
2072	projection	18,573	6,274–52,647	315	186	2.20	68.4
2073	projection	18,693	6,191–54,016	314	188	2.19	68.5
2074	projection	18,808	6,085–55,613	314	190	2.18	68.7
2075	projection	18,920	6,083–57,003	312	191	2.17	68.8
2076	projection	19,031	6,057–59,119	311	193	2.16	68.9
2077	projection	19,139	5,908–60,591	309	195	2.15	69.0
2078	projection	19,245	5,838–62,122	308	197	2.14	69.1
2079	projection	19,352	5,729–63,455	306	199	2.13	69.3
2080	projection	19,457	5,783–65,493	305	201	2.12	69.4
2081	projection	19,543	5,808–66,428	303	203	2.11	69.5
2082	projection	19,640	5,707–68,170	301	206	2.10	69.6
2083	projection	19,727	5,712–70,325	300	208	2.09	69.7
2084	projection	19,811	5,816–73,382	298	211	2.08	69.8
2085	projection	19,889	5,927–75,035	297	213	2.07	69.9
2086	projection	19,958	5,853–77,516	295	216	2.06	70.1
2087	projection	20,026	5,825–79,624	294	218	2.06	70.2
2088	projection	20,082	5,745–82,051	293	221	2.05	70.3
2089	projection	20,148	5,714–86,136	292	224	2.04	70.4
2090	projection	20,214	5,750–87,988	290	226	2.03	70.5
2091	projection	20,270	5,838–93,611	290	229	2.02	70.7
2092	projection	20,315	5,870–95,184	289	231	2.02	70.8
2093	projection	20,361	6,113–99,080	288	233	2.01	70.9
2094	projection	20,416	6,220–103,460	287	236	2.00	71.0
2095	projection	20,463	6,298–107,437	286	238	2.00	71.1
2096	projection	20,498	6,308–110,078	286	240	1.99	71.2
2097	projection	20,533	6,497–114,166	285	241	1.99	71.4
2098	projection	20,573	6,558–117,212	284	243	1.98	71.5
2099	projection	20,614	6,495–121,450	283	244	1.97	71.6
2100	projection	20,645	6,439–124,972	282	245	1.97	71.7

Show the numbers: Nauru, mid-2026, by single year of age

Nauru: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	144	136
1	144	135
2	146	138
3	150	142
4	155	146
5	146	148
6	138	146
7	142	140
8	148	136
9	156	141
10	159	146
11	158	148
12	158	148
13	158	150
14	161	151
15	160	146
16	154	140
17	148	133
18	140	122
19	128	110
20	114	98
21	102	92
22	92	88
23	84	83
24	84	82
25	82	84
26	76	80
27	78	80
28	83	80
29	85	80
30	87	77
31	85	75
32	85	76
33	90	81
34	92	85
35	97	84
36	97	82
37	95	85
38	92	90
39	84	88
40	83	88
41	88	86
42	82	83
43	78	82
44	76	76
45	75	66
46	71	60
47	63	57
48	56	54
49	51	52
50	44	47
51	38	44
52	40	45
53	40	44
54	36	34
55	36	32
56	36	32
57	32	30
58	30	32
59	35	34
60	36	32
61	34	31
62	28	33
63	23	30
64	20	28
65	18	28
66	16	26
67	14	27
68	14	28
69	12	24
70	10	18
71	9	16
72	8	16
73	7	11
74	7	10
75	7	10
76	6	7
77	4	5
78	2	6
79	2	7
80	2	3
81	1	0
82	1	0
83	1	0
84	1	0
85	0	0
86	0	0
87	0	0
88	0	0
89	0	0
90	0	0
91	0	0
92	0	0
93	0	0
94	0	0
95	0	0
96	0	0
97	0	0
98	0	0
99	0	0
100+	0	0

NRU · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Nauru, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

NRU · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Nauru

In Nauru the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 7,023 of them.

100 aged 15–64

65 children

5 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 39 years: 1978–1979 and 2064–2100.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

NRU · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Nauru, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Nauru loses 142 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 26 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 5 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 218 (1965); its biggest loss, 252 (2001).

In 2024, 2,548 people living in Nauru had been born in another country, 21 of every 100 people there, against 29 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

NRU · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Nauru

Of every 100 babies born in Nauru in 2023, 14 had a mother under 20, 74 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 12 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 8 under 20 and 18 aged 35 or older.

1950
8 · 74 · 18

2023
14 · 74 · 12

2050 · projected
16 · 72 · 12

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 303
Average age when women have a baby: 27.1 years; 29.8 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 76; 55 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Nauru by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	0	0	1	2	2	1
15–19	8	26	41	41	51	26
20–24	23	53	93	86	81	54
25–29	30	28	71	75	74	69
30–34	23	6	45	62	76	91
35–39	15	13	27	33	34	38
40–44	3	3	8	4	2	2
45–49	0	1	1	0	0	1
50–54	0	0	0	0	0	0
All babies	102	130	287	303	320	282

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

NRU · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Nauru

At the end of 2025, Nauru was hosting 97 people who had crossed a border into it, about 8 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad97
Nauru nationals abroad27

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: one square stands for 2 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Nauru living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 45 people asked for asylum in Nauru for the first time. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

NRU · of every 100 people

How people live in Nauru

Of every 100 people in Nauru in 2025, 92 lived in a town or suburb and 8 in the countryside.

towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 17 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

NRU · cities · 2025

Cities in Nauru

No place in Nauru is big and dense enough to count as a city under the UN's rule — at least 50,000 people, living 1,500 or more to the square kilometre.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Nauru are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.