Nauru is the smallest country in Oceania by land area, covering about 21 square kilometres. The tiny island republic lies in Micronesia in the central Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia and roughly 300 kilometres east of Banaba in Kiribati.
Nauru is a raised coral island encircled by a narrow coastal belt and reef. Much of its interior was heavily altered by phosphate mining, leaving a jagged limestone plateau known as Topside. The mined landscape makes Nauru’s small land area especially distinctive when viewed from above.
Despite its size, Nauru is a fully independent country. It became independent in 1968 and is one of the world’s smallest states by both area and population. It is also the smallest republic and the smallest island country by area.
A common mix-up is Tuvalu, which has about 26 square kilometres of land, or the Marshall Islands and Palau, both of which cover more territory. Nauru is therefore the canonical answer when the question asks for Oceania’s smallest sovereign country by land area.