Settled by Micronesians circa 1000 BCE, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century.

[22] Comparatively little is known of Nauruan prehistory,[23] although the island is believed to have had a long period of isolation, which accounts for the distinct language that developed among the inhabitants.

Inhabitants practised aquaculture: they caught juvenile milkfish (known as Ibija in Nauruan), acclimatised them to freshwater, and raised them in Buada Lagoon, providing a reliable food source.

'[28] In 1798, the British sea captain John Fearn, on his trading ship Hunter (300 tons), became the first Westerner to report sighting Nauru, calling it "Pleasant Island", because of its attractive appearance.

[29][30] From at least 1826, Nauruans had regular contact with Europeans on whaling and trading ships who called for provisions and fresh drinking water.

[35][42] The island experienced an influenza epidemic and ongoing colonial strife through the early 20th century, with a mortality rate of 18 per cent among native Nauruans.

[50] The surrender was accepted by Brigadier J. R. Stevenson, who represented Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, the commander of the First Australian Army, aboard the warship HMAS Diamantina.

By that time, Nauru had been extensively mined for phosphate by companies from Australia, Britain, and New Zealand, damaging the landscape so much that it was thought the island would be uninhabitable by the 1990s.

In 1962, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies said that the three countries involved in the mining had an obligation to provide a solution for the Nauruan people, and proposed finding a new island for them.

[64] However, the Nauruan people did not wish to become Australian citizens and wanted to be given sovereignty over Curtis Island to establish themselves as an independent nation, which Australia would not agree to.

Mining has stripped and devastated about 80 per cent of Nauru's land area, leaving it uninhabitable[69] and has also affected the surrounding exclusive economic zone; 40% of marine life is estimated to have been killed by silt and phosphate runoff.

Water is gathered from roof catchment systems or brought to Nauru as ballast on ships returning for loads of phosphate.

[4] The September 2005 memorandum of understanding between Australia and Nauru provides the latter with financial aid and technical assistance, including a Secretary of Finance to prepare the budget, and advisers on health and education.

[109] Amnesty International has since described the conditions of the refugees of war living in Nauru as a "horror",[110][111] with reports of children as young as eight attempting suicide and engaging in acts of self-harm.

[4][128] The Asian Development Bank notes that, although the administration has a strong public mandate to implement economic reforms, in the absence of an alternative to phosphate mining, the medium-term outlook is for continued dependence on external assistance.

[132] In February 2008, the Foreign Affairs minister, Kieren Keke, stated that the closure would result in 100 Nauruans losing their jobs, and would affect 10% of the island's population directly or indirectly: "We have got a huge number of families that are suddenly going to be without any income.

[109] In July 2017, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) upgraded its rating of Nauru's standards of tax transparency.

Previously Nauru had been listed alongside fourteen other countries that had failed to show that they could comply with international tax transparency standards and regulations.

However, the government has restricted the religious practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses, most of whom are foreign workers employed by the government-owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation.

[144] Since 2011, the University of New England, Australia has established a presence on the island with around 30 Nauruan teachers studying for an associate degree in education.

[145] This project is led by Associate Professor Pep Serow and funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Sites with libraries include the University of the South Pacific campus, Nauru Secondary, Kayser College, and Aiwo Primary.

Nauru has one of the highest child mortality rates in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) region at 2.9% in 2020, according to a UNICEF study.

Flights operate four days a week to Brisbane, Australia,[153] with limited service to other destinations including Nadi[154] (Fiji) and Bonriki (Kiribati).

The modernization and expansion project of the former Aiwo Boat Harbor was expected to be completed in 2021 but has been delayed due to technical and logistics issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[159] Large areas of the island have been stripped of vegetation and topsoil, leaving behind barren landscapes that are prone to erosion and degradation.

[160] The mining activities have also caused significant disruption to the island's ecosystem, leading to a decline in biodiversity and the extinction of several plant and animal species.

[165] However, the area where most Nauruans live now, on the coastal ring on the island that hasn't been mined, the soil quality is among the poorest in the world, as it is shallow, alkaline, and has the coarse texture of the coral that surrounds it.

[166] The country's dependence on processed and imported foods along with "cultural, historical, and social factors" have greatly affected the health of its citizens.

[185] Other sports popular in Nauru include weightlifting (considered a national pastime), volleyball, netball, fishing and tennis.