NR
Republic of Nauru
Nauru
Summary
- Official Name
- Republic of Nauru
- Population
- 10,900
- General Remarks
- 1 coral island
- Principal Languages
- English, Nauruan
- International Conventions
- CSICH (2012), UNCRPD (2006)
- General References
- Bender and Rehg 1991, Wurm 2007
- Language Counts
- The number of established languages listed for Nauru is 3. All are living languages. Of these, 2 are indigenous and 1 is non-indigenous. Furthermore, 2 are institutional and 1 is in trouble.
Languages
- Chinese Pidgin English cpi
- Scattered. Users: Several thousand speakers, spoken by most in Nauru (Wurm 2007). Status: 6b* (Threatened). Alternate Names: China Coast Pidgin, Melanesian-Chinese Mixed Pidgin English Classification: Pidgin, English based, Pacific
- English eng
- Users: 10,400 in Nauru, all users. L1 users: 700 in Nauru (2022 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. L2 users: 9,700 (2021). Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
- Nauruan nau
- Nauru Island. Users: 11,100, all users. L1 users: 10,100 (2021), decreasing. L2 users: 1,000. Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Alternate Names: Nauru Autonym: dorerin Naoero Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Micronesian, Nauruan
Languages by Status
Nauruan
[nau] 1 (National). De facto national language. 11,100, all users. L1 users: 10,100 (2021), decreasing. L2 users: 1,000.
English
[eng] 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. 10,400 in Nauru, all users. L1 users: 700 in Nauru (2022 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. L2 users: 9,700 (2021).
Chinese Pidgin English
[cpi] 6b* (Threatened). Several thousand speakers, spoken by most in Nauru (Wurm 2007).
Maps
Graphs
Language Vitality Profile

Full explanation
Language Status Profile

Full explanation