TIL that the small Pacific island nation of Nauru was once the richest country in the world thanks to phosphate mines, but as the phosphate was depleted it descended into poverty, reaching 90% unemployment.

submitted by Jashfior from telegraph.co.uk

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[–]DrStrangelove 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Nauru also has a fascinating history as a hub for shady international banking.

Nauru is a tiny island, population 12,000, a third of the size of Manhattan and far from anywhere: Yet at the center of several of the decade's biggest global events. Contributing editor Jack Hitt tells the untold story of this dot in the middle of the Pacific and its involvement in the bankrupting of the Russian economy, global terrorism, North Korean defectors, the end of the world, and the late 1980s theatrical flop of a London musical based on the life of Leonardo da Vinci called Leonardo, A Portrait of Love. (30 minutes)

Here's a great piece about Nauru from This American Life (NPR)