The third smallest country in the world in both area and population officially changed its name on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
The Third Smallest Country in the World Changed Its Name.
The country that was formerly known as Nauru is now officially designated as the Republic of Naoero, with Naoero being the accepted abbreviated form of the name. Moreover, the international country code of the country will change from NRU to NRO; and its people will be referred to as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan.
“The decision not to pursue a referendum was reached after thoughtful deliberation that Naoero is not a new name seeking acceptance by the people. It 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”, according to the official Facebook site of the government of the Republic of Naoero. “Naoero is the beginning of renewed national pride, and a new chapter founded on unity, responsibility, patriotism, better health, education, and sustainable development. The future of Naoero will be built by learning from the mistakes of the past and using their experience to make wiser decisions for the generations to come.”
David Adeang — who is the current president of the Republic of Naoero — said the moment was not about politics; but about identity, heritage, and “preserving the legacy of our ancestors and strengthening the future of our children”.
Countries and international organizations have formally been notified of the change and have begun implementing the transition. The official web site of the United Nations records the Republic of Naoero by its new name — as well as the foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand and the embassies of the United States and China. Google Maps has yet to change the name, as seen with an interactive map included below in this article.
Nauru is not the only country to have officially changed its name in recent years to signal a shift away from a colonial past:
- In order to strengthen the brand of the country now formerly known by its anglicized name of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a circular that was issued on Saturday, December 4, 2021 which declared that in all kinds of activities and correspondence with all international institutions and organizations — especially other states — the name Türkiye will officially be used.
- At a double celebration which occurred at Mavuso Sports Centre on Thursday, April 19, 2018 to commemorate 50 years since both the independence of his country from being a British protectorate and the day he was born, Mswati III — who is the king of Swaziland and head of the Swazi royal family — declared that the new name for Swaziland is the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Approximately 12,000 people live on the island nation within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean with an area of only 8.1 square miles or 21 square kilometers, which designates it as the third smallest country in the world in both area and population. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world in both area and population. Tuvalu is the second smallest country in terms of population; and Monaco is the second smallest country in the world in terms of area.
Final Boarding Call
The new name of the country is pronounced now-ero and no longer by its former pronunciation of now-roo.
I have never been to Nauru — oops, excuse me — the Republic of Naoero; but I hope to visit it one day…
Source: Google Maps. Imagery ©2026 Airbus, Maxar Technologies, Map data ©2026.
