Introduction

Tuvalu

Background:

In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.

Geography

Tuvalu

Location:

Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates:

8 00 S, 178 00 E

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

24 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

Terrain:

very low-lying and narrow coral atolls

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources:

fish

Land use:

arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2001)

Irrigated land:

NA

Natural hazards:

severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level

Environment - current issues:

since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon

People

Tuvalu

Population:

11,636 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 30.8% (male 1,823/female 1,756)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 3,620/female 3,847)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 229/female 361) (2005 est.)

Median age:

total: 24.45 years
male: 23.36 years
female: 25.85 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.47% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:

21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:

7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 20.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 68.01 years
male: 65.79 years
female: 70.33 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic groups:

Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%

Religions:

Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%

Languages:

Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)

Literacy:

definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government

Tuvalu

Country name:

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu
former: Ellice Islands
note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands

Government type:

constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy; began debating republic status in 1992

Capital:

Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

Administrative divisions:

none

Independence:

1 October 1978 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 1 October (1978)

Constitution:

1 October 1978

Legal system:

NA

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006)
election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 October 2004

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15

Judicial branch:

High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)

Political parties and leaders:

there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings

Political pressure groups and leaders:

none

International organization participation:

ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu

Flag description:

light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands

Economy

Tuvalu

Economy - overview:

Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$12.2 million (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Labor force:

7,000 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

5% (2000 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:

coconuts; fish

Industries:

fishing, tourism, copra

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: NA
hydro: NA
nuclear: NA
other: NA

Exports:

$1 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities:

copra, fish

Exports - partners:

Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)

Imports:

$79 million c.i.f. (2002)

Imports - commodities:

food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods

Imports - partners:

Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004)

Debt - external:

NA

Economic aid - recipient:

$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)

Currency (code):

Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar

Currency code:

AUD

Exchange rates:

Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

Tuvalu

Telephones - main lines in use:

700 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

0 (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands
international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:

4,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

0 (2004)

Televisions:

800

Internet country code:

.tv

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

1,300 (2002)

Transportation

Tuvalu

Highways:

total: 8 km
paved: 0 km
unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:

Funafuti

Merchant marine:

total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT
by type: cargo 20, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2
foreign-owned: 16 (China 9, Germany 2, Hong Kong 4, Thailand 1) (2005)

Airports:

1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military

Tuvalu

Military branches:

no regular military forces; national police force

Military expenditures - dollar figure:

NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

NA

Transnational Issues

Tuvalu

Disputes - international:

none