Nauru, Oceania

Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 km² (8.1 sq. mi), the smallest independent republic, and the only republican state in the world without an official capital. It is the least populous member of the United Nations. It achieved independence in 1968. The government of Nauru has resorted to unusual measures to obtain income. In the 1990s, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and money laundering center. Since 2001, it has accepted aid from the Australian government; in exchange for this aid, Nauru housed, until early 2008, an offshore detention centere that held and processed asylum seekers trying to enter Australia. Nauru continues to criminal male homosexuality but not same-sex female behavior. There are no rights or protections offered to any gay people.