Nauru becomes Naoero as Pacific nation reclaims traditional identity

Wellington,UPDATED: Aug 3, 2026 14:52 IST

The Pacific island nation of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, with President David Adeang saying the move brings the country’s official name in line with its 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 as Nauru and pronounced “Now-roo”, the new name is pronounced “Now-ero”. The government said the move restores the remote South Pacific nation’s traditional name and reflects its heritage, language and identity.

In a statement posted on the government’s Facebook account on Thursday, the administration said the country had become known internationally as Nauru because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was used for convenience rather than by choice. “This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honour our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity,” Adeang had said when he proposed the move in Parliament in January.

The suggested constitutional amendment has been approved by lawmakers in the required two rounds of voting, although it was not immediately clear whether the Constitution had been formally amended. Adeang said the name change marked “the beginning of renewed national pride”. When the government last voted for the move in May, he had announced a referendum to confirm it.

However, the government said last week that after “extensive discussions”, lawmakers had decided a public vote was not 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. It added that 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”.

Naoero, with a population of about 12,000, is the world’s third-smallest country by population after Tuvalu and Vatican City. The coral limestone atoll was colonised by Germany and later administered by Australia before becoming an independent republic in 1968. The country saw huge wealth from phosphate mining in the 1970s, but the collapse of the industry pushed it to the brink of economic ruin in the 1990s.

The country is now among the most vulnerable in the world to rising sea levels linked to climate change. Its government has been seeking overseas investment through a paid citizenship programme aimed at funding the relocation of people and infrastructure away from the encroaching ocean.

The change will also lead to the renaming of the country’s national aircraft and ships. The government said it was already seeking recognition of the new name from other countries and international institutions. The United Nations website lists the country by its new name, saying the government requested the change in June, while the foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand and the US and Chinese embassies in the region also use Naoero on their websites.

The move makes Naoero the latest country to signal a shift away from its colonial past through a name change. The government has presented the decision as a return to the name long used by its people, language and national symbols.

With PTI Inputs

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