Parting with the colonial name: Nauru changes its name to Republic of Naoero

The Pacific island nation of Nauru has changed its official name to 'Republic of Naoero', in line with the local pronunciation. President David Adeang announced the move as a return to the traditional name. The international code will change from NRU to NRO, and citizens will be called 'di Naoero'. The government said the name 'Nauru' was adopted in the past to make it easier for foreigners. Parliament approved the constitutional amendment in two rounds.

The Pacific island nation of Nauru has changed its official name to 'Republic of Naoero', in line with the way its name is written and pronounced in the local language. President David Adeang announced that the move marks a return to the country's traditional name and 'the beginning of renewed national pride'. Following the change, the international code will change from NRU to NRO, and its citizens will henceforth be called 'di Naoero' instead of 'Nauruans'. While the world has been accustomed to pronouncing the name 'Nauru', the local pronunciation of the new name is 'Nao-ero'. In a statement published by the government on Facebook, it was said that the name 'Nauru' was adopted internationally mainly because foreigners found it difficult to pronounce the local name. According to the government, it was a solution intended to ease pronunciation, not a name chosen by the country's residents. 'The change is intended to more faithfully reflect our heritage, language, and national identity,' Adeang said when presenting the proposal to parliament in January. Parliament members approved the required constitutional amendment in two rounds of voting, but it was not reported whether the constitutional amendment process was officially completed. Initially, the president announced his intention to hold a referendum on the matter, but later parliament decided it was unnecessary. The government explained that the name 'Naoero' never disappeared, but was waiting for official and full adoption. Naoero has about 12,000 residents and is considered the third smallest country in the world by population, after Tuvalu and Vatican City. The island, built mainly of limestone and coral, was once a German colony and later administered by Australia until it gained independence in 1968. Phosphate mining made the country one of the richest in the world in the 1970s, but the collapse of the industry led to a severe economic crisis in the 1990s. Today, Naoero is considered one of the countries most vulnerable to rising sea levels. The name change will also require updating the names of national aircraft and ships. The government is already working to gain international recognition for the new name. On the UN website, the country already appears under its new name, after the government requested the change in June. The foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand, as well as the US and Chinese embassies in the region, have also begun using the name 'Naoero'. The country thus joins a series of countries that have sought to break away from names associated with their colonial past. In 2018, Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini, and in 2022, Turkey asked the UN to adopt the name 'Türkiye'.