Nauruans

Indigenous peoples of Nauru
Nauruan warrior, 1880
Total population
c. 15,000
Regions with significant populations
 Nauruc. 11,000
 Australiac. 800
 New Zealand135[1]
Languages
Nauruan (native), English, Nauru Pidgin
Religion
Christianity, Shamanism, Animism
Related ethnic groups
Polynesians, Melanesians and Micronesians

Nauruans are a nation and an ethnic group indigenous to the Pacific island country of Nauru. They are most likely a blend of Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian ancestry.[2]

The origin of the Nauruan people has not yet been finally determined. It was probably seafaring or shipwrecked Polynesians or Melanesians, who established themselves there because there was not already an indigenous population present, whereas the Micronesians were already crossed with the Melanesians in this area.

The Nauruans have two elements of their population: the native Micronesians and the Polynesians who had immigrated long before. Through these two extremes, diverse traditions came to exist.

In about 1920, influenza spread through Nauru, which took a heavy toll on the Nauruans. In 1925, the first cases of diabetes were diagnosed by doctors. Today, depending on age, every second to third Nauruan is diabetic – a higher rate than any other country in the world.

  1. ^ "2018 Census ethnic group summaries | Stats NZ".
  2. ^ Report of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Administration of the Territory of Nauru. 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2021.