Nauru is a tiny Pacific island country with a population of only 10,000. The island was annexed by Germany in the 1880s. Its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Following the outbreak of World War I, Australian forces captured the island in 1914. After the war, the League of Nations assigned a joint trustee mandate over the island to Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. During World War II Japan occupied Nauru, and after the war the island became a United Nations Trust Territory under Australia, in line with the previous League of Nations mandate. It became an independent republic in 1968. Nauru’s economy depends almost entirely on exports of phosphates, but the reserves of phosphates are near depletion. The country's long-term economic future will depend on measures to convert the mineral wealth into alternative sources of income.