How the World's Richest Country Lost 90% of its GDP

In the 1980s Nauru was the richest country in the world on a per capita basis. Nauru's wealth can be entirely attributed to its deposits of Phosphate, a substance used in fertilizers. However, by the early 2000s they had completely run out of Phosphate the country's GDP declined by more than 90%.
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[@DrDeFord]

Wait, so Australia is sending the people they find undesirable across the seas to essentially a penal island? I wonder where they got that idea from.

[@firelord7776]

Thanks for this comment, I have not even recognized the irony myself😂

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

Tbf it’s what you should expect from them in the situation 😂

[@haydnmclennan4739]

at least we aren't sending our own citizens I guess🤷🏼‍♂

[@DumitruUrsu]

It's penal islands all the way down, until you reach turtles 💀

[@spicychad55]

Thanks to England for sending its criminals and degens to Aussieland and USA!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Wow. Worst economic drop in history and an economy wholly dependent on Australia using it as a penal colony, and yet Nauru somehow *still* manages to be better than Argentina. XD

[@FDGiovanni]

Yeah... * cries in argentinian *

[@larryc1616]

and Venezuela...

[@richhornie7000]

@@JO-og5tp if anything the reason why the world cup matters so much is the fact that it's the last glimmer of hope for Argentinians to at least have pride in their country. They don't forget the triple digit inflation or the continued decline of their economy, but a single relief in the sea of problems grant them the will to go on even if just a little bit more.

[@johnwoods7650]

Except in football.

[@richhornie7000]

@@user-rh7ch6no2r when Messi himself gets their wrath for a decade you know they wouldn't treat random poor brown people in neighboring countries any better lol

[@user-cx9nc4pj8w]

Nauru is also interesting because it raises the question of can a country be too small? I doubt there's much you can diversify the economy with when you're on a tiny island with only 10, 000 people, and large portions are uninhabitable.

[@tomlxyz]

I think the remoteness is more of an issue than the size. It makes import and export just too expensive. If it was just a country on a continent it might just keep going

[@jantjarks7946]

Show us small countries which had not to deal with foreign interventions like colonialism or communism and are poor. If we ignore the history of a country, we cannot understand if a country is "too small" for a successful economy. I would claim no country is too small if managed correctly from the beginning. 🤔😉

[@niclaswenzel8689]

​@@jantjarks7946 there probably aren´t many countries that "had not to deal with foreign interventions like colonialism or communism" small or big. So by that standard someone can just pick the rich ones and discard all the others. In addition to that most of the countries that fail don´t exist anymore, so they fall out of the statistics, too. Most small countries vanish because of being conquered though.

[@mi12no]

It can be small if it has resources and a military

[@jantjarks7946]

Isn't it sad that violence is chosen as the measurement of a country being too small or not? A lot of small countries even from today wouldn't survive if that would be true. As such, it probably more reflects your mindset, not the case if a country is too small or not. 🤔🤷😉

[@bobbymainz1160]

Economists and business leaders are voicing concerns at the start of 2023 that the year could be a difficult one. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates to 6% to fight inflation, higher than the peak level between 5% and 5.5% in 2023 that most Fed officials penciled in after their December meeting. Although I read an article of people that grossed profits up to $500k during this crash, what are the best stocks to buy/short now or put on a watchlist.

[@oneiljerry9460]

Emotionally-charged decisions to sell off large quantities of stocks or other investments now lock in your losses, removing any chance for future growth.

[@stephaniestella213]

A 2022 Northwestern Mutual study found that 75% of U.S. adults admit their financial planning needs improvement. However, only 29% of Americans work with a financial advisor.

[@kimyoung8414]

@Zahair O'Brian Would it be okay if I asked you to recommend this specific advisor or company that you used their services? Seems you've figured it all out.

[@hausklaus7718]

Scam bots😂

[@VivaLaAntifa3]

@@hausklaus7718 Is anyone ever falling for these?

[@brooishu]

As President Franklin Roosevelt once stated, “A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself."

[@14534]

He was a terrible president

[@southend26]

That's why Germany and Australia destroyed Nauru's soil instead. 🙃

[@mynameismynameyourname6197]

How?

[@Cordman1221]

@14534 yeah the dude who took a nation in the throes of the worst economic failure in its history and left it The predominant superpower on earth was a 'bad' president. This is your brain on fascism lolol🤣🤣🤣

[@wintaaaaa]

It would have been more profiatable if they used the phosphate to farm themselves

[@21gioni]

As an Australian I remember that Nauru owned most of the prime realestate in the City of Melbourne. It was a very sad day when we learned about what happened to them. The country was forced to sell this prime realestate during the worst recession and they lost on the sale of the property.

[@federicomadden9236]

You must have been like "Oh nauru!!"

[@miah5561]

@@federicomadden9236 lol

[@michaelcooney7687]

When I first went to Melbourne and saw Nauru house, a tall sophisticated looking building, I remember thinking WOW they are really going well…😢

[@21gioni]

@@michaelcooney7687 Nauru House had the fastest lifts in Melbourne and when you step out of it the static build up always gave you an electric shock. They also owned a number of pubs and restaurants around Melbourne. Near Spencer Street Station at the top end of Burke Street. It was a shame to see all these things go. One property remained derelict for almost 12 years. Planning wouldn’t approve plans for the site.

[@21gioni]

@@federicomadden9236 We actually enjoyed mingling with the Nauru people. It’s shameful what has happened to them.

[@shitbrick89]

Very interesting video, but a shame you didnt show any actual footage from Nauru. You show the open cut mines, but the moonscape of Nauru is very different, with the most of the island covered by massive pinnacles. I was in Nauru a few years ago and they talked about the good old days of when they could just go into the bank and take thousands of dollars out of the bank and nobody cared when the wind blew a few hundred away. They also said the police commissioner's car was a Maserati. Very interesting country to visit, their policies of land ownership massively complicate things. When people disagreed with the president they set fire to his house and pushed his car into his pool.

[@thebestcentaur]

So Nauru basically became the ship from WALL-E

[@TSERJI]

🗿

[@marcusmoonstein242]

Is there such a thing as a country being too small to be self-sustaining? I know places like the Vatican and Monaco survive because they've found ways to bring in a constant stream of foreign money, but at some point of smallness it must become impossible for a country to function by itself.

[@FlintIronstag23]

Nauru is probably at that threshold. At least Vatican City and Monaco are surrounded by Italy and France, so they benefit from their infrastructure. Nauru was an independent country for several thousand years before the Europeans annexed it, but as a stone age, tribal-based society. Even if the people of Nauru wanted to return to that traditional lifestyle, they can't. The phosphate mining has wrecked too much of their island for that to happen.

[@blizzardBad]

Ever heard of Singapore?

[@thirstyserpent1079]

@@FlintIronstag23 Would Togo fit into that category or the Marshall Islands?

[@danurkresnamurti3598]

@@blizzardBad singapore have geographic advantage. they stand on malaca strait

[@danurkresnamurti3598]

Only if Nauru do what Norway did. They will have the bigest SWF today

[@pcproffy]

This is like a real life version of Tropico 6. There's actually a scenario where you turn your country into a prison colony as a way to make money. Who knows, maybe this country is where the developers got the idea from?

[@RolanJhehanMElaco]

Or Australia

[@chris0000924]

This totally reminded me of Tropico 6

[@UwUeboi]

@@DontReadMyProfilePhoto_1ok 👍

[@alexvirtanen439]

That mission takes place in the World Wars era. So it was probably based on something else

[@megapeiron]

No, the country they got the idea is Cuba.

[@Kilen_BE]

That was Interesting, completely unaware of the history of Naru. Sad story indeed, good point is it can only go better after that. Thx for sharing

[@neilritson7445]

This is great as an analysis and also because it shows the absurdity of the scoring systems in use by economists and politicians, whatever they are. Many comments reflect this.

[@partya11night20]

The the score makes Nauru look like better than Argentina. Argentina though in a terrible state is realistically only hard reforms and 5-10 years away from being fine.

[@jesseferguson8341]

Moral: If you want to start a country, make sure to diversify your country's economy

[@buttAttack]

Bro they tried but just had bad RNG

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Make sure you're also sponsored by raid Shadow legends.

[@jesseferguson8341]

@@Robert-cu9bm Indeed

[@jesseferguson8341]

@@Robert-cu9bm And defend the country by using NordVPN

[@larryc1616]

Saudi Arabia, uae, Bahrain, Russia will all go the same way when fossil fuel prices collapse permanently as they are abandoned for green energy in about 10 years or less

[@mattpackwood6737]

The Nauru Tower in Honolulu is considered one of the most luxurious condos in Hawaii. It was funded by Nauru phosphate wealth. If still owned by the Nauru Government it should be bringing in a fair amount of revenue. There's also Nauru House in Melbourne. In early 2019, the then under-construction development was purchased by Dexus for a reported $1.4 billion. Not sure if that went to the Nauru Government.

[@fra604]

Minute 10:00, he mentions it

[@Jenvlogs404]

I’m from nearby and the ten percent Chinese are mining the phosphate brutaIIy, during the second phase people don’t even see a penny and trees are gone. The western are experienced at sucking and ones giving power to terror.

[@stuartharrison9944]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo Boring... P**s Off

[@karlanthonymargate7362]

They likewise own the Pacific Star Bldg in Makati, Philippines

[@RO-st8wh]

EE is always make great video that I enjoy every time. The only thing that lacking mybe is further reading material and reference

[@thatcurrykid]

Love your vids! Can you please do a video on the economics of Bolivia?

[@whatsa635]

Hi there 😄 Thank you for watching! *Let's have a conversation, please write me on my official TLEGRAM above* ✍️

[@dreamcastH]

Anyone else find it a bit frustrating that they deemed it too expensive to make any efforts to fix the farm land while also importing sports cars for everyone and allowing folks to just retire whenever. Seems like one of those situations where people were comfortable with their life style and not that it was actually too expensive to prevent an inevitable problem.

[@lukemorgan6166]

Benefit the rich is all it does. All government ever does is suit the elites

[@GamesFromSpace]

Those are completely different scales, it would probably cost billions to undo all that damage done for the profit of other nations.

[@stephenc2481]

Many of these troubled countries have greedy politicians, out for themselves. Long term planning is essential for the country. It is like personal success, they could make use of a good finance and investment team, while they have the income to do something. With that kind of natural resource, all of the islanders would live like royals, off of the interest from investments.

[@za8bchem]

Europeans

[@jondoe4624]

@@za8bchem Europeans weren't driving sports cars around a tiny island and quitting their jobs to live on phosphate payments

[@editedforprivacy207]

Phosphate compounds are also very useful in the production of both high and low explosives.

[@123shotas]

I wonder if the Russian military knows about that 🤣 Heard wood is better than C4

[@victorcode2075]

Also fertiliser

[@joshsaidddd]

big fan of the channel, could you do a video on unionization and it’s impacts on the economy? such as the risk posed by worker strikes and the effects of the influx of money in the hands of more people. are there more efficient ways to fight inequality?

[@fredpuntdroad8701]

In the Netherlands the unions are dominated by the boomers. Up to 93% of union members are retired. The result is a very perverse sense of priorities where the unions are fighting against the interests of the workers, and for the interests of the boomers. They'll easily sacrifice a wage increase to prevent a current-pension decrease, even though that's bad for the workers. They fought raising the pension age tooth and nail, while keeping that at 65 and earlier for pre-pensions is very harmful to the economy and the interests of the workers. Union activity is definately harmful for the macro economy. Look at France, no company goes there if they can afford it, because hyper-militant unions dominated by boomers strike basically every week and even use violence. Their pension age is still 49 years in some cases and France is going utterly bankrupt as a result. A much better way is through the proces of democracy. That's how we went from the Industrial Revolution levels of poverty in the early 1800's to the effective social-democracies we've got in most of Europe. All of that is due to the rise of liberalism in politics 1830 and onwards, where extreme inequality and poverty were seen as inherently bad things. These movements were also powered by the same rich upper class that had previously ruthlessly exploited others, so it became a society-wide movement that all wanted the same regardless of background. This liberalism is a much better model than the idiotic idea of socialism and their deeply antagonistic 'class war' where succesful and unsuccesful people fight and murder eachother until one side wins, opresses the other and apropriates everything the other had. People prefer to work together happily over being brutally opressed, who knew? 😆

[@joshsaidddd]

@@fredpuntdroad8701 thanks for the reply i appreciate it, i tried to explain this to my AP us history class when we had a debate on unionization and everyone thought i was crazy including my teacher, seems like no one understands that they are better ways to fight inequality then creating divide and unnecessary economic instability and supply chain issues. your views remind me of the Gospel of Wealth by carnegie

[@fredpuntdroad8701]

@@joshsaidddd Well, it doesn't help that a lot of anti-union voices can be pretty US-conservative style and quite unreasonable. It's easy to get a sort of guilt-by-association where everyone who says something is presumed to be a raving mad libertarian rich kid in the US. And if you look at some things in the context of the US, you have Amazon forcing people to work in tropical temperatures (over 35 degrees celsius) and a government that is not allowed to step in and stop it. Within that context a union has a use. And I wouldn't want to pretend all unions across the whole world are the Dutch and French style criminal syndicates run by boomers. Heck, until fairly recently I was a member of the union of military officers (and ex-officers). Then again, last labour dispute we had, they.....sat down and talked about it like normal people. And the MOD saw the point and agreed with them.

[@danharvey3096]

An impact of unionisation and its effects on the economy was the growth of the middle class out of the factories beginning in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Prior to the massive union strikes in the late 20s & early 30s factory workers had no fixed hours of work, often had 80+ hour work weeks, child labour was a thing, labour standards didn't exist etc. All the productive wealth generated by the factories went to the Gilded aristocratic families.. Then unionisation happened, the factory labour force as the main engine of global growth became the middle class, the middle class became home owning consumerists etc... Then Neoliberalism happened, smashed the union base in much of the western world, until we are basically back at the pre union Victorian Era. Where all the productive wealth is funnelled into a new Gilded Aristocratic class. Workers are working longer hours to survive, the middle class is almost dead, labour standards are getting worse again, child labour is gradually being snuck back in etc.. Its a downward slope towards the point where huge labour strikes become necessary action to the current situation where the richest doubled their wealth in 2020, & where the 1% increased their "earnings" by around 4000% in 30 years but the working poor, even those in positions that were considered middle class only 30 years ago, saw theirs increase by only 10% accounting for inflation.. So a video on the effects of unionisation should include unionisation and it being a net booster to the real economy as more people had more money, which meant more flow of money, more small businesses etc. The decimation of unionisation in most countries has resulted in an increased working poor with less money, meaning less people are buying things to stimulate local economies. Which has a flow on effect of more & more consolidation as more small businesses struggle. obviously there's much more to that than decimation of unions, but that is part of it. Also the solution to the consequences of the previous middle class-the well paid factory workers becoming the working poor, was to artificially stimulate a new Middle Class by financialisaton & debt rather than production. Most of todays now rapidly shrinking middle class is a result of debt fuelled housing speculation, the offices set up around a speculative financialised economy, or a "service economy" based on consumerism literally reliant on "Middle Class" people racking up credit card debt. All of which is wildly unsustainable & the results we are seeing now. Had the working class not become the working poor, & stayed middle class, based on good unionised wages, the economy wouldn't have become so reliant on speculation to maintain a middle class, & we wouldn't have the same problems we now face.. But then again if that hadn't happened then the 12 richest people wouldn't have amassed the same wealth of half the entire worlds population, an amount that used to be shared around 350 richest people in 2008. Such is the level of consolidation. An organised workforce & strong union base was a barrier to that level of consolidation. A level of consolidation that has a much greater negative impact on the economy than 3 weeks of strikes does.. Unions also got us things like public holidays, superannuation, pension schemes, weekends etc. All of which benefit workers & much of it benefits the economy. Of course much of that has been privatised & corporatized too, such as the corporatisation of the superannuation industry, started by union retirement & injury insurance schemes, was privatised & makes up a major chunk of the financial economy.. So i would say a fair macro economic analysis of unionisation that doesn't just use Neoliberal BS would find that the impacts of worker unionisation are quite large indeed..

[@henrycarlson7514]

Interesting , Thank You

[@andrewwilliams7390]

I hope you continue to cover more small economies

[@FranckMartin]

Pity the footage and illustrations have mostly nothing to do with Nauru. I went there many times, during their low days. I helped them manage themselves their ccTLD, may be at the time one of their biggest source of revenue, and that was not much. So many stories. Once they had to find me a room in the hotel because it was full of personnel for the detention camps…

[@ShaudaySmith]

Yeah, his videos are pretty much entirely stock footage, and i would imagine there ain't many videographers going to Nauru to help with that passive income.

[@UrbanLyfeGH]

Can u help me clarify the predominant complexion of these people

[@linusa2996]

@@UrbanLyfeGH They are related to the natives of Hawaii, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Madagascar, Borneo, Indonesia and points between.

[@thegoldenseed]

That obese guy on bike is definitely from Malaysia. I immediately recognized the BAC logo on the signboard. Then only I noticed the number plate and the surrounding. It's definitely Malaysia.

[@kabtak252]

@@UrbanLyfeGH dude they are brown... Like 75 percent of this world...lol

[@idhanosiyerimah3677]

Hey Economics explained.. great video.. When are you going to put Nigeria on the Economics explained national leader board?

[@andrewheng5176]

I think a lot of remote island-based societies share more or less the same struggles, Hawaii isn't self-sustaining and is also quite reliant on imports from the mainland; thus making it extremely difficult for the locals as well. Compound that with the high prices that are typically associated with popular tourist hotspots, the prices are just too much of a burden for locals. But the interesting element here is Nauru's once strategic resource, although I doubt even the taxes and profits earned there would've been enough to kick-start a new means of revenue for the government.

[@joshuapatrick682]

This is actually a better lesson in how GDP per capita isn’t the best measuring stick for wealth when talking about a nation with one of the smallest populations and areas on Earth which should be obvious. It’s a great tool when looking at complex economies with tens to hundreds of millions of people…but when looking any 10,000 People stuck in a way of living forced on them by dead assholes.

[@Trucmuch]

It's true that GDP per capita isn’t the best measuring stick for wealth when talking about a nation with a small population. But still. When its GDP per capita was the best in the world, they spend money on luxury sports cars. When it dropped drastically, they spent it on canned food. Sound pretty accurate to me.

[@wilhelmbittrich88]

“dead assholes”? Really? What an ignorant and stupid comment.

[@EvilDickism]

forced? they could have stopped at any time.

[@markbarbour6381]

@@EvilDickism ??? Nauru only became an independent country in the 1960s, at which point the writing was very much on the wall.

[@EvilDickism]

@Mark Barbour No, it wasn't. It didn't become the wealthiest until 1976 And didn't really bottom out until the 90s. Don't make excuses for their failures. And it still doesn't disprove my point about them being able to stop at their will

[@s0516122]

I think it would be useful to point out the parallels between the reliance on the resource wealth of Nauru and that of Australia.

[@jordansmith4040]

I think the big difference is Australia has continental levels of raw resources, whereas this island in question is just a small island.

[@Aussie-boi]

If only we had a sovereign wealth fund :( most of the profits like Nauru end up overseas

[@s0516122]

@@Aussie-boi Totally agree.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

All resoruces are ultimately natural resources and human labor

[@morganstanley6356]

Well Naura got conned by australian financial advisors no doubt given that this was the 1970s. Australia viewed all non white people as inferior.

[@deveshchauhan8380]

When other channels promote their other videos in the middle of the current video, I skip 5 seconds. But at Economics Explained, I am eagerly waiting and add them to watch later.

[@Herra_K]

Thank you for the tutorial

[@jono_cc2258]

So what you're saying is if Scotland was to become independent they should put some refugee detention centres on an island or two and undercut Nauru to avoid the trap of resource curse?

[@thegorn]

And force them to eat haggis

[@DirkusTurkess]

I think living in Scotland would be deterence enough.

[@manhoosnick]

@@thegorn prison ok, but haggis !! This is human rights abuse

[@Promethalus]

I volunteer as guard, I love the Scottish Isles!

[@tonybrowneyed8277]

@@thegorn in the middle of the north sea. if i was a prisoner there, i would ask for transfer to nauru.

[@marksinclair701]

I was wondering why Brazil was so low, but I think there is an error in the average for Brazil. Brazil = (9+5+3+3+6)/5 = 26/5 = 5.2 Checking, Nauru = (1+5+3+9+2)/5 = 20/5 = 4.0 So yeah, Brazil, not quite as bad as Nauru, phew!

[@leifc.6045]

And this is what happened when the gov gives out free money. Purchasing value crashes hard.

[@EchoingHell]

@@leifc.6045 Yes and no. If money supply increases but the supply of goods/services matches it, then the ratio stays the same. Things get funky when one or the other deviate to much. 🌶️

[@nishant54]

@@EchoingHell Only yes everywhere.

[@SineN0mine3]

@@nishant54 its quite rare in recent times, but limited money supply is as bad for the economy as excess surplus.

[@nishant54]

@@SineN0mine3 Nope limited money is far better than excess. It creates the fair price.

[@thomasmeldrum6238]

Where is the EE Essentials page? I’m excited to check it out, but all I see is a page not found error.

[@goat-mostamazingtop1078]

can you tell me where you get your motion graphics from? Envato elements? Thank You!

[@khalidalali186]

Nauru 🇳🇷 has the unbeatable world record, when it comes to crashing your own economy in less than 20 years.

[@shaydza]

Not true. Go read up on Zimbabwe.

[@AndrewMcFarlane_1]

@@shaydza south Africa rising... I mean sinking

[@chidianyanwu8731]

@@AndrewMcFarlane_1 even in the next 100 years South Africa 🇿🇦 will remain and get even better

[@nikoladd]

Russia in 2022: Hold my vodka!

[@robertwoodpa6463]

US: Hold my beer.

[@PranayPratyush]

Did he just say "What he lacks in size more than makes up for in economic lessons"? That has to be one of the sickest country burns.

[@DiscoFang]

Second only to dedicating a video to a country but completely mispronouncing the country's name.

[@techonomics205]

Well explained

[@whatsa635]

Hi there 😄 Thank you for watching! *Let's have a conversation, please write me on my official TLEGRAM above* ✍🏻

[@poppers7317]

How to read the leaderboard at the end when you put the recommendation videos over it? Make a separate screen for that.

[@maxkennedy8075]

Australia using another distant nation as a prison. They grow up so fast

[@shadowhuntagaming]

Haha, I never thought about it like this before 😂

[@hotman_pt_]

they are legit one of the worst countries nowadays in relation to their domestic relations. They not only straigth up exploit the northern territory, but also prey on the weakness of Timor Leste and Nauru.

[@FlatKitten]

@@hotman_pt_ hoping to see change for the better with Anthony Albanese

[@awf6554]

@@hotman_pt_ Huh? The Northern Territory is part of Australia.

[@gre894]

@@hotman_pt_ Nauru would literally be worthless without this arrangement

[@jeffc1347]

The really sad thing is they probably could have just invested the money into the S&P 500 and all live really nice lives without having to work for the next several generations.

[@xyz-pg3zd]

is it too late? or wait for drop

[@757Bricksquad]

This isn’t even close to being true.

[@Pantsinabucket]

@@xyz-pg3zdall the money is gone. Pissed away on bad investments like a failed airline and hotel.

[@14534]

@@xyz-pg3zdno more phosphate. Yep, too late

[@AlanLamb11]

@@757Bricksquad Not even true for Norway despite having the largest sovreign wealth fund in the world. If Norwegian citizens all stopped working, the fund would be empty in less than 8 years.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

I found a book u got as a gift in like 84, ive been a geography nerd since i was a kid, its a NG countries of the world book. The nauru section is depressing,knowing what we know because its talking about how wealthy they are, i really wish it was a choose youre own adventure book

[@AI_ART_LIBRARY]

Let it be a example for all of us to understand that the planet earth is just a big Nauru. 🙈🍀 once the resources are gone, they are gone for good, the oil is the main resource we are spending the same way Nauru used his main natural resource. We need to focus as Individuals to waste as little as possible and be active to support ways of life and laws that are sustainable.

[@wolfrainexxx]

Yeah, we should be strip mining the Congo & Brazil for Cobalt instead. We need renewables now.

[@c-w-h]

We have fusion. Still a couple decades away from being. But they only introduced the truth when they have control. They plan to depopulate the 1st world countries.

[@c-w-h]

@zjg4gcvn it was just announced a couple weeka ago. Go learn.

[@c-w-h]

@zjg4gcvn then why did they say that they had a net gain and not a net loss of power. Then you did not read or watch the same thing. Its not going to instantly change anything. But in time, we will see. Could be propaganda. But if its true. Things could change on 20 years.

[@jewi71]

Interesting video! I have not known that Nauru was the richest country 50 years ago because of phosphate. But the ranking at the end makes no sense. Either you want compare economies by size or by strength. In the first case you can give points for GDP, in the second case only for GDP per capita. And to praise Nauru for 7% growth, if this is based on refugee camp financed by Australia, is also mindless.

[@Alright397]

Zee heeppopotamoose, he is not born saying, "Cool beans. I am a heeppo." No way, Joesay. So he try to paint zee stripe on him to be like zee zebra, but he fool no one. Then he try to put zee spot on zee skin to be like the leopard, but everyboody know he is a heeppo. So, at certain point, he look himself in zee mirror and he just say, "Hey. I am a heeppopotamoose and zere is nothing I can do about it." As soon as he accepts zis, he live life happy. Happy as a heeppo. You understand zis

[@aeoteng]

So, I'm a Naurusian now (and not Nauruan anymore) I guess 🤷‍♂️. Good vid with straightforward criticism.

[@prashanthb4565]

Hey man.. how's the world today like in Nauru?

[@Dan2yefa]

@@prashanthb4565 Naruto?

[@ekx5120]

I don't think they're still published, but I highly recommend reading Maarten J. Troost, he spent a number of years in the Pacific and lived with the locals on Vanuatu and I can't remember where else. The reliance on outside help is incredible, they have issues with obesity and alcoholism and gambling in some nations. They can't grow anything that would sustain the local population because some parts have been transformed into resorts and tourist attractions for wealthy Westerners. They have issues with plastic and cans polluting some bays and creeks, and the remoteness of some of the smallest inhabited islands makes it hard to get access to help and healthcare during hurricanes/typhoons. Oh hi! Let me colonise your island, strip natural resources, give it back to you when we done, oh and here's your membership to capitalism and now you're technically poor. YOU NEED ME.

[@henrypucci2738]

It seems you don't know the difference between capitalism and imperialism.

[@kevinw2592]

@@henrypucci2738 one comes from a gun, one from a banker. Same result.

[@marceelino]

lol

[@SimoAtlas]

Do a video on my country Morocco which is growing I would love to see external thoughts to improve

[@Thetwinmeister]

How the World's Richest Country Lost 90% of its GDP Growth: 9/10

[@victorcode2075]

Hahaha should be -9

[@barbiquearea]

"Increased wealth and poor food choices" Interestingly most developed countries have the opposite problem, where most people in the middle or poorer income brackets tend to eat cheap, unhealthy food such as from fast food restaurants.

[@rangergxi]

Arab gulf states and pacific states have the highest obesity. They go all in on those cheeseburgers.

[@euphoriacake1009]

FAST FOOD IS NOT CHEAP. That's a myth. Making sandwiches and the like will usually always be cheaper and healthier

[@Demmrir]

@@euphoriacake1009 Not if you don't have a market that you can walk to that sells the ingredients you need and the free time to cook anything more complex. Time is a luxury. Travel is a luxury. And many places have a McDonalds on the block but the closest market is miles away.

[@iandakariann]

They weren't really rich. They were basically forced to destroy their country and once 'independent ' forced to do the same work as they had no means to improve themselves as their natural resources had been destroyed by then. A farming slave that, once free, ends up having to farm the same land or starve. Without good access to real food they turned to food that had the highest energy for the least income, which is fast food. When they tried to expand into other economies, they were exploited or scammed due to lack of knowledge, ignorance, or bad actors. Eventually, the money ran out and they were left with nothing. That's effectively what happens to the lower classes in developed nations, especially ones that start off in colonized or enslaved populations. Wealth is more than just having access to money. It's access to resources and opportunities, to high quality education that brings skills you can utilize and food. They didn't have that. So they are just like the poor eating from McDonald's, even if their numbers claimed otherwise.

[@ianyapxw]

@@euphoriacake1009 you’re completely right, it’s partially cultural. In Singapore people believe that cheap food is healthy food. Poor people eat lots of rice, eggs, bean sprouts, leafy vegetables, tofu and carrots, either boiled or stir fried with garlic. Much much cheaper than a cheeseburger, even a $2 cheeseburger.

[@Khaled-lq3tz]

Please do a similar video about Egypt, it's so tragic right now.

[@SCREWBY92]

Hey EE, I was just wondering if you could explain or make a vid on what would happen if a country all of a sudden paid off it's national debt. Hypothetical Australia could pay off it's 1 Trillion dollars of debt using half of its citizens Superannuation, which apparently grosses 3.3 Trillion. Obviously folks would be unwilling to part with their super, but surely the 70 billion that would otherwise be spent on the Nat debts interest and more on repayments would cover those out of pocket for their retirements for the next decade or so?

[@whatsa635]

Hi there 😄 Thank you for watching! *Let's have a conversation, please write me on my official TLEGRAM above* ✍️

[@nauxsi]

If you did that you would get bombed and a puppet govt installed to get you back into debt.

[@jonjimihendrix]

Great video! That blue line on the Growth graph js really hard to see. A higher-contrast color would be appreciated by aging eyes. Thanks, keep up the good and informative work!

[@joncarter8896]

It is show how are not smart idea that country should concentrate on one industry. Good video. Many economics look on economy in vacuum and total forget about social questions and that war and states are exist.

[@andrewkaraoulis]

What software do you use to edit?

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

My man is doing the diversification of content into lighter and more specific niche topics. Very few get it right, there's a bright future ahead!

[@thomasjohnson2862]

Must have been tense for Argentinian viewers watching while EE was announcing Nauru’s ratings, to see if somebody would rank below them. Perhaps they’ll request EE to put North Korea or Afghanistan on the leaderboard?

[@xehpuk]

I think Argentina was quite rich once, at least top 10 GDP per capita then something went wrong. Populist politicians probably. Right or left I did not fully understand, probably doesn't matter once on decline corruption will make sure it continues down.

[@JosePineda-cy6om]

Argentina was the richest country on Earth, when measured on GDP per capita, in 1900. Or in the top 10, if measured in absolute numbers. And yes, almost a century of populism (mostly left wing gov'ts, but the right wing military dictators weren't much better stewards of the economy) destroyed all that wealth

[@tomkelly8827]

I imagine Nauru is blessed with a very large Exclusive economic zone around their island. Surely there is fishing, aquaculture and oil out there and I am guessing they have the port for exporting their excess production

[@leonardhalstead8810]

Yes Nauru has a 200 mile EEZ which is raking in revenue from the US. Japan and other major fishing countries. This could become Nauru's biggest revenue when the refugee intake comes to a complete halt. Remember that Nauru is also getting economic aid from Australia and Taiwan. Australians are bickering about this but they don't realise that Australia exploited Nauru's phosphate for more than a hundred years and never paid the correct royalties to Nauru claiming that there wasn't a world price for phosphate when there was. This was only discovered when Nauru gained it's independences and threatened to take Australia to the International Court if they did not compensate for the damage they did to Nauru, but that's another story. Notice that Australia used to pay Nauru 1/2 a penny per ton for the phosphate. You can only imagine their profits for selling the phosphate on the world market. As I write this Nauru with the financial aid from the ADB has 70 percent built a wharf that can berth large cargo ships.

[@kkho2198]

yes but the cost of shipping all that all around those countries can source stuff cheaper around closer to their home countries. japan usa taiwan all are island countries close to the pacific....

[@jon6309]

I live in Hawaii and we have a tower called Nauru Towers. Not sure if the nation once owned it but its a pretty decent tower in a good neighborhood in Honolulu.

[@johnl.7754]

Wonder if they could have developed the island into a luxury seaside destination when they were rich

[@asahearts1]

Too desolate by that point.

[@aerime]

Probably need billions of dollars in investments. Dont think they have the money for it.

[@TuckyAndrei1]

They could probably become a tax heaven + norwegian oil fund like ee suggested

[@noel7777noel]

Never once did this video mention "predictions of a paying customer" as a business plan. But did mention how the rich run their cons. And the rich who game the system know nothing about pouncing on a mouse. I love the parenting technique of a common house cat. First, The mother takes a dead mouse to her kittens. Like communist. To get them used to the taste. Second, [when the kitchens are a little older] takes a unharmed mouse to her kittens for practice. If the kitten doesn't ponce correctly, the mouse runs off, and the kitten goes hungry. Like the stupid rich people not building homes for the working-class to own, instead of building rental apartments for the working-class to rent. Now. Rich people are the con men who have gamed the banking system, and that's going to be your paying customers? The people that bankrupted the island in the first place. You want to pamper the people who stole the resources in the first place as a paying customer. The people who built apartment buildings for the working-class to rent. My state of Florida didn't embrace the Everglades as a fishing capital of the world. They did a war on water and stopped the natural flow of the water of the Everglades. Bill Clinton signed legislation to restore the Everglades. The Everglades project never happened. They took the land for farming. The Everglades is this natural water filter system. To filter farming run off. Farms produce pollution and the Everglades filters that run off. Do you understand, they took out the filter that the farms need to make way for the farms. A catch-22. Instead of making it the fishing capital of the world.

[@hotman_pt_]

they could just give up their independence, which isn't gonna happen

[@jasperoberwoerder]

Babe wake up Economics Explained just dropped a new video

[@volvo09]

Bot

[@eucalyptuzzvideo4035]

Would you even sleep if you know it’s about to drop soon

[@somerandomcook]

@@volvo09 I wouldn't really think so if they only made one comment on the channel

[@bn3645]

Babe, babe, where are you?

[@randomvideoposter1000]

@@bn3645 nonexistent

[@howtoappearincompletely9739]

At 2:14-2:31, you show the flag and borders of the modern German Federal Republic, but both are anachronistic, since this maximally refers to 1888-1914, when Nauru was administered by the (Second) German Empire (1871-1918).

[@Mr.BobsDog]

Thanks mate

[@jan_Masewin]

I applaud the creativity of this video, I don't think I've heard Nauru pronounced as nay-roo before

[@TheCrunchifiedOne]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this

[@dylanadams1455]

because Straya

[@rosshilton]

I worked as an advisor to Nauru. This video has missed out a lot of things, especially the miss- advice by a series of economic cowboys (some of who should have known better and others who were just criminals). It also misses the cultural challenges. I was once chased by a man in his underpants, waving a machete. Apparently I had “got too close to his garden”. Why? The people don’t trust banks and bury money in jars in the garden. This is the answer to one of the mysteries - where did all of the money in the island go after the banks closed? It was taken and buried. You also missed the fact that when it failed the bank left its vault open and everyone stole the money. There is still a fortune in phosphate left on the island, and it is still mined an exported.

[@Zero.X]

UUF

[@rosshilton]

@@Zero.X Isn’t UUF some sort of mixed martial arts thing?

[@stephenc2481]

it is sad to see that rich countries turn poor. it takes a mindset to build wealth. Countries can be doomed to bad financial skills, like individuals. On top of that, there is always greed from politicians, standing in the way.

[@eulyer3722]

Dude trust me

[@jdi801]

Interesting comparison is Denmark and Norway. Comparable oil reserves. Norway has the world's biggest investment fund, Denmark has debt.

[@SaposaBear]

Can you cover Mongolia next? Getting stuck in a very similar predicament.

[@hilestoby2628]

Nauru has to import 90% of their food due to the exhaustion of phosphorus in the top soil. The soil in the past was described as one of the richest and offered subsistence farming. Most of the food imported today is processed as said in the video because of cheapness, but has increased obesity rates to more than 90 percent for both genders.

[@Hungabrigoo]

While processed food is certainly a huge health problem, obesity itself can be easily helped by an ancient technique called "eating less".

[@leonardhalstead8810]

Yes Nauru imports most of its commodities, maybe 90 percent is correct, The top soil is not phosphate it is a very rich black soil which is very rich in properties for farming. Phosphate is under this top soil and it can be dug up to sometimes more than 50 ft deep The Phosphate itself is not good for growing anything. It only gains its amazing plant growing properties when processed and chemically mixed with other elements and it becomes super phosphate.

[@andrewayers135]

@@leonardhalstead8810 the rich black soil is a very minor area on the island known as topside, whereas the fringe where everyone lives, is mostly crushed coral

[@leonardhalstead8810]

@@andrewayers135 Andrew are you a Nauruan and do you live on the Island ? Black top soil is a layer of rich soil found around most of the Island not just topside.. There is no natural crushed coral anywhere on Nauru except where it was laid down by people who wanted crushed soil covering the black soil around their dwellings. Crushed soil is just that it is crushed soil, crushed by heavy machinery.

[@damp2269]

@@Hungabrigoo nah, eating less barely slows obesity if all you have available is trash... at some point you have to eat.

[@wattle2394]

Great Chrissie gift - thanks. Though sad for Nauru.

[@user-ll9hg7mz3c]

thanks for that explanation to a layman. Totally made sense.

[@shoutingmuteness3902]

Watching your videos

[@hereLiesThisTroper]

Ok this is weird. Some days ago, a random thought came to my mind thinking about whatever happened to Nauru after the pandemic? And voila! A new video about Nauru. I must be a psychic.

[@kazj1728]

Nauru is like Gulf countries set to 2x-3x fast forward, complete with widespread obesity and laughable infrastructure (Burj Khalifa relies on septic holding tanks that need to be pumped and trucked to the treatment plant). Only difference is the Gulf Royals will abscond to Europe with their counties’ wealth, if they manage to escape Arab Spring 2.0.

[@monangagustian3564]

Just ignore the fact that until 1968 Nauru was exploited by European colonists (Germany, Australia) and Japan during WW2. When they got Independence, 1/3 of the land already barren of forest and valuable minerals.

[@-glitch-8195]

Exactly. Gulf countries are extremely underdeveloped considering they've had wealth for decades. Only the city centers are developed. You can pull it up on google maps. The sidewalks are not paved, the asphalt is not even. But they are worried about competing on a global stage. They have a major issue regarding mismanagement of funds and it will eventually catch up to them. Diversification is not easy to do. Their leadership makes it sound so easy, but most countries cannot diversify due to a variety of factors. On top of that, there is a massive wealth gap. The people in those countries are not rich at all. They are all on government assistance.

[@kazj1728]

@@-glitch-8195 The biggest lie the Royals make is that it’s in their interest to help the country’s citizens. It is not. They keep the citizens fat and entertained just enough to not question anything, so the Royals can stash away as much money as Western oil companies will allow them to, so when the 💩 hits the fan they can be out of there. Why else would Royals be such big customers of expensive easily transportable stores of wealth like artwork?

[@kazj1728]

@@-glitch-8195 Fun fact to your point: Saudi is a big fossil fuel producer, right? Guess what most Saudis use in their kitchens to cook? 20lb Propane Canisters, like for outdoor grills, but inside houses. If the biggest oil producer doesn’t even bother to run gas lines to residential communities, you can’t believe these ridiculous infrastructure projects are meant to help people. They’re just paying off foreign companies so they can keep up relations for a smooth entry to their foreign villas. If you have $100 billion, it’s better to pay off $90 billion to ensure you’re alive to enjoy your $10 billion; rather than trying to keep all that money yourself and end up at the mercy of your citizens when they eventually revolt.

[@nathansamson8215]

Similar thing happening in Jamaica with the bauxite mining (and resorts and real estate too, like Hawaii, uprooting natives and whatnot). It’s upending the culture although temporarily maintaining gdp but they must diversify it’s not sustainable for any1 corporate or local

[@nathansamson8215]

Just want to add the Hawaiian fruit industry as another footnote, interesting video keep it up 👍

[@zeropokemon5462]

Since Nauru is a small island encircled with ocean, in my view, fishing can a job for the unemployed masses. Besides, when they had huge money, they should've built some industry. This small island can be turned into a port city, also refueling station for ships that passes nearby.

[@kkho2198]

then what. ship it to australia, another island that has loads of fish and meat?

[@vermasean]

Happy Holidays EE Team! 👋 🌲

[@baringtonia]

Kept saying NAIRU instead of Nauru….true economist 😂

[@dululjahma6609]

wiki-nomist

[@adamik2271]

He’s Australian lol

[@jubmelahtes]

Aistralia

[@robman2095]

@@adamik2271 i have never heard it pronounced like he does in australia

[@DiscoFang]

Yeah that pronunciation is just flat out lazy and inept. You'd think it a fundamental of making a country the subject of a video. Nayru????

[@bnnrose]

In Honolulu we have Nauru Tower condominium high rise developed by the country in the 90s. I'm not sure if they still own it or not

[@ndreinschannel5683]

I am gonna share this to my native fellows to let them learn how such a method could enable a temporary enrichment but a permanent scar to their place. Just like what's happening in Sibuyan Island. the illegal minings for natural resources have been hectic there, transferring soil to another country(China) for testing a nickel deposit yet those test consumed 50000 tons(or more)(not sure of this info) of soil already. not really environmental friendly, and yet the government still continues to stay quiet.

[@junioroteng6266]

Can you do an African nation next (ideally one of the west African countries). Ghana for instance has seen an influx of international economic activities and I would love to see your view on Ghana’s economy.

[@MrGreen-dp4oz]

I'ma call bs. Some one or group made a killing exploiting this island of it's resources. Took everything and left

[@serpentine1983]

exactly.. And probably the politicians took all the tax money for themselves instead of investing it in reforestation and tourist infrastructure among other things. Probably a industry or two based on services (like ARM or electronics design for example) because it would be hard in such a small country to have industries that create stuff. So they have to focus on services and tourism.

[@princessmarlena1359]

@@serpentine1983 agreed

[@BusinessAustralian]

I add to the sports car story from a Readers Digest article I read in the 1960s or 1970s where Nauru had the highest per capita ownership of grand pianos in the world. Yep, they got screwed over, but did they make seriously bad decisions.

[@DunnickFayuro]

They could put one or two spaceports on these damaged barren lands. Their location near the equator kinda) looks pretty advantageous for this and they won't need to deforest for it.

[@playlist9389]

Thank you. It would be interesting to watch a video about Baltic states too.

[@labboc]

You know it's not a feel-good video when "mass drownings" is mentioned in passing...

[@Bigbuckgaming]

My Tropico island had the same problems

[@hectorbadillo1434]

:0 this video makes me think of my Island of Puerto Rico. Can we have a video on Puerto Rico??? I wanna understand what exactly sucks, economically speaking.

[@asahearts1]

So Nauru 🇳🇷 is the Australia 🇦🇺 of Australia 🇦🇺.

[@totallyjerd1751]

Nah that's Tasmania

[@karlkorell8653]

Can you do a video about Estonian economy please.

[@Deepthought-42]

It would be interesting to do a similar assessment of post Brexit Britain 🤔

[@adg5391]

Waiting for UK !❤️Hate from India🇮🇳

[@Petrico94]

Would you attempt a top 10 worst economies to round out the bottom of the list? A lot of struggling economies or low GDP countries might not hit the news often so it's a little depressing to see Argentina. Maybe add something like pre-industrial Europe since economies do change and it'd be helpful to have reference points based on specific time periods.

[@StrumVogel]

Kinda feel like the “Lottery Winner” curse.

[@tallest4eva]

Not really. For most of their history, the Nauruans had NO say in their resources because they were colonized by Germany, Japan then Australia. By the time they got control of their own land, most of their island was ALREADY destroyed by over-exploitation with the topsoil removed and no agriculture possible. The island is yet another victim of Europe's actions in the last couple of centuries!

[@shieldphaser]

Honestly, there are significant parallels to be drawn between collapses like these and people who win big in the lottery only to spend way too much and end up dead broke. It's not steady income, it's a glorified cash injection.

[@nickjgreen8923]

I’ve worked there. This video contains absolutely no real footage but is vaguely accurate

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

Nauru's first Olympics was in 1996. I know because I have a pin from then that says, "Nauru's First Olympics".

[@chavezchavo]

*Explains obesity while showing footage of obesity of Malaysia* Well, my home country has probably the highest index of obesity within SEA countries. Good video about Nauru's natural resources.

[@hollysmith7828]

I doubt there’s much stock footage of obesity in Nauru…

[@cherryann4293]

Just came across the news of Nauru ending their diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which reminded me of this vid. It was such a shame since I was hoping that one day I could visit there

[@noticedruid4985]

I think one of the biggest things to come to light is that Naaru is not capable of being independent, especially due to the lack of the island being capable of being self sufficient.

[@leonardhalstead8810]

Nauru 's phosphate was 70 percent dug out by the colonialists before Nauru became independent. So the damage was 70 percent already done by foreign powers. Nauru's 'richest in GDP per capita' status came after Nauru gained their independence not before, so your analysis is wrong. Nauru lost its wealth through later governments who brought in scrupulous western advisers that gave wrong advice and profited from it. If Nauru never gained independence from the colonial powers who did not pay Nauruans a correct and fair price for their phosphate in the first place and so when the phosphate had exhausted, do you think the Nauruans would be in a better state today ? I don't think so.

[@aadilbaksh710]

Hey would love to hear about Guyana. ExxonMobils newest milking cow. We just got oil rich and I wonder if we have a chance to escape the resource curse

[@walli6388]

First point to introduce: Death sentence for corruption

[@SDW3-6-9]

Corruption and Nepotism lead to lack of meritocracy..so it leads to a downfall in time apart from the predatory neo-colonists like Chynaa and Big Oil.

[@deepblue3682]

Go the norway way

[@just_a_curious_thinker]

Norway is the best way

[@just_a_curious_thinker]

@The Adviser Bot spammers🤡are everywhere

[@stormix12]

Hey mate awesome job. Can you make the economy of Colombia 🇨🇴? Thanks!

[@jerome4445]

Didn't this one dumb you down enough?

[@stormix12]

@@jerome4445 Want to see how doom my country is :(

[@jerome4445]

@@stormix12 Any video from this channel will only serve to dumb you down ! Done replying

[@eros21112]

@@jerome4445 care to elaborate?

[@timgooding2448]

@@jerome4445 Why are you here then?

[@Ice_Karma]

For next time, Nauru is pronounced "nah-OO-roo" or "NOW-roo", and the demonym is "Nauruan".

[@anonymous-rb2sr]

A question to everyone: How would you go about making that country succesful if you had been in charge from the independence onwards?

[@Kevinf0212]

A very interesting look at Nauru. I remember when Nauru used to own the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne, one of the most exclusive hotels in Melbourne at the time. Even the Beatles stayed there. The only thing that marred it was the glossing over of the Tampa affair. The MV Tampa picked up the refugees who had left from Indonesia to Australia. When the MV Tampa picked them up, Indonesia had asked for them to be dropped at Merak ferry port. The refugees refused to go there and told the captain to go to Christmas Island instead and threatened to jump overboard or riot if he didn't. Technically, this is a hijacking. An Australian Navy boat actually delivered them to Nauru.

[@MsJubjubbird]

It was right before the federal election. John Howard knew he was onto a winner by refusing them entry

[@danielmorris7648]

"Technically" they were murderous criminals not refugees they weren't fleeing they were invading

[@fredpuntdroad8701]

"and threatened to jump overboard" We Europeans suffer from the same lack of a "This doesn't sound like a problem. Illegals, by all means carry out your threat" mentality in response to that sort of stuff. 😆