Nauru is the Oceanian country with a total land area of about 21 square kilometres. It is a single raised coral island in the central Pacific and one of the world's smallest independent states by area.
Nauru's landscape reflects its geological history. Coral reefs developed around an extinct volcanic island, while phosphate-rich deposits accumulated on the raised interior. Extensive phosphate mining later removed much of the central plateau, leaving a heavily worked landscape surrounded by a narrow coastal belt where most people live.
The country lies just south of the Equator, northeast of Australia and south of the Marshall Islands. Although its land area is tiny, Nauru's maritime zone is vastly larger, extending across a broad section of the Pacific Ocean.
Nauru is sometimes confused with Tuvalu or the Marshall Islands because all are small Pacific island countries. Their physical forms differ: Nauru is one raised island, Tuvalu is an archipelago of atolls and reef islands, and the Marshall Islands consist mainly of coral atolls.