2007 Edition

Administrative divisions

none

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.2% (male 1,819/female 1,752) 15-64 years: 64.7% (male 3,715/female 3,923) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 228/female 373) (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products

coconuts; fish

Area

land

26 sq km

total

26 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

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 a 12-year period. Geography Tuvalu

Birth rate

22.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Budget

expenditures

$14.23 million; including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2002)

revenues

$22.78 million

Capital

geographic coordinates

8 30 S, 179 12 E

name

Funafuti

note

administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

time difference

UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Climate

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

Coastline

24 km

Constitution

1 October 1978

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Tuvalu

former

Ellice Islands

local long form

none

local short form

Tuvalu

note

"Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands

Currency (code)

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

Currency code

AUD

Current account balance

$2.323 million (1998)

Death rate

7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$NA

Diplomatic representation from the US

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

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, NY 10017,

telephone

[1] (212) 490-0534

Economic aid - recipient

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

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 remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. About 1,000 Tuvaluans are being repatriated from Nauru, with the decline of phosphate resources there. 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%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. 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.

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

NA

hydro

NA

nuclear

NA

other

NA

Elevation extremes

highest point

unnamed location 5 m

lowest point

Pacific Ocean 0 m

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 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, Whaling

signed, but not ratified

none of the selected agreements

Ethnic groups

Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%

Exchange rates

Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister

chief of state

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005)

election results

Apisai IELEMIA elected Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election on 14 August 2006

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 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010)

head of government

Prime Minister Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006)

Exports

$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

copra, fish

Exports - partners

Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2005)

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications 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

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

16.6%

industry

27.2%

services

56.2%

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,600 (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.2% (2002 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$14.94 million (2002)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$14.94 million (2002 est.)

Geographic coordinates

8 00 S, 178 00 E

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

Government type

constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%

NA%

lowest 10%

NA%

Imports

$9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods

Imports - partners

Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2005)

Independence

1 October 1978 (from UK)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

fishing, tourism, copra

Infant mortality rate

female

16.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

male

22.27 deaths/1,000 live births

total

19.47 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.9% (2005 est.)

International organization participation

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

Irrigated land

NA

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)

Labor force

3,615 (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

note

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)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land

0%

other

33.33% (2005)

permanent crops

66.67%

Languages

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

Legal system

NA

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)

election results

percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15

elections

last held 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010)

Life expectancy at birth

female

70.66 years (2006 est.)

male

66.08 years

total population

68.32 years

Literacy

NA Government 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

Map references

Oceania

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

24 nm

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Median age

female

26 years (2006 est.)

male

23.6 years

total

24.6 years

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 October (1978)

Nationality

adjective

Tuvaluan

noun

Tuvaluan(s)

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

fish

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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

Population

11,810 (July 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Population growth rate

1.51% (2006 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

total population

0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telephone system

general assessment

serves particular needs for internal

Telephones - main lines in use

700 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

0 (2004)

Terrain

very low-lying and narrow coral atolls

Total fertility rate

2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Disputes - international

none This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

Internet country code

.tv

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet users

1,300 (2002) Transportation Tuvalu

Merchant marine

by type

bulk carrier 3, cargo 37, chemical tanker 1, container 2, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned

43 (China 23, Hong Kong 8, Kenya 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Thailand 1, Turkey 2) (2006)

total

52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 196,790 GRT/256,436 DWT

Military branches

no regular military forces; Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure

NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA Transnational Issues Tuvalu

Ports and terminals

Funafuti Military Tuvalu

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios

4,000 (1997)

Roadways

paved

8 km (2002)

total

8 km

Television broadcast stations

0 (2004)

Televisions

800