Map of Tuvalu | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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.


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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 reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 26 km²
Rank: 236
Land: 26 km²
Water: 0 km²
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: low-lying and narrow coral atolls

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

Natural resources: fish

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 66.67%
Other: 33.33% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the nine 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


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Population: 12,373 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 223
Growth rate: 1.616% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 83
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Tuvaluan
Adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96% Micronesian 4%

Languages: Tuvaluan English Samoan Kiribati (on the island of Nui)

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.2%
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 3,973/female 4,141)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 240/female 408) (2009 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 25.4 years
Male: 24.4 years
Female: 26.6 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.616% (2009 est.)
Rank: 83

Birth rate: 23.11 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 79

Death rate: 6.95 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 134

Net migration rate: NA (2009 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 49% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 18.43 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 112
Male: 20.95 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 15.77 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.29 years
Rank: 148
Male: 66.99 years
Female: 71.7 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.91 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 76

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years (2001)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Tuvalu
Local long form: none
Local short form: Tuvalu
Former: Ellice Islands
Note: 'Tuvalu' means 'group of eight' referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands

Government type: a parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Funafuti
Geographic coordinates: 8 30 S 179 12 E
Time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Note: administrative offices are in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

Administrative divisions: none

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 October 1978 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 1 October (1978)

Constitution: 1 October 1978

Legal system: English common law supplemented by local customary law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005)
Head of government: Prime Minister Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006)
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 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010)
Election results: Apisai IELEMIA elected prime minister in a parliamentary election on 14 August 2006

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 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
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

International organization participation: ACP ADB C FAO IFRCS (observer) IMO IOC ITU OPCW PIF Sparteca SPC 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 NY 10,017 telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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 and is almost entirely dependent upon imported food and fuel. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1000 tourists on average visit Tuvalu annually. Job opportunities are scarce and public sector workers make up most of those employed. About 15% of the adult male population work as seamen on merchant ships abroad and remittances are a vital source of income contributing around $4 million in 2006. Substantial income is received annually from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF) 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 grew from an initial $17 million to an estimated value of $77 million in 2006. The TFF contributed nearly $9 million towards the government budget in 2006 and is an important cushion for meeting shortfalls in the government's budget. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to ensure financial stability and sustainability the government is pursuing public sector reforms including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts. Tuvalu also derives royalties from the lease of its '.tv' Internet domain name with revenue of more than $2 million in 2006. A minor source of government revenue comes from the sale of stamps and coins. 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. Growing income disparities and the vulnerability of the country to climatic change are amo

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $14.94 million (2002 est.)
Rank: 226

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (2006 est.)
Rank: 127

Real gdp per capita: $1600 (2002 est.)
Rank: 195

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 16.6%
Industry: 27.2%
Services: 56.2% (2002)

Agriculture products: coconuts; fish

Industries: fishing tourism copra

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 3,615 (2004 est.)
Rank: 214
By occupation note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea reefs and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $21.54 million
Expenditures: $23.05 million (2006)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.8% (2006 est.)
Rank: 58

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: -$11.68 million (2003)
Rank: 64

Exports: $1 million (2004 est.)
Rank: 218
Commodities: copra fish

Imports: $12.91 million (2005)
Rank: 216
Commodities: food animals mineral fuels machinery manufactured goods

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per U 1.2059 (2008 est.) 1.2137 (2007) 1.3285 (2006) 1.3095 (2005) 1.3598 (2004)


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Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1500 (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 226
Mobile cellular: 2000 (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 216

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

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .tv
Hosts: 103,041 (2009)
Hosts rank: 73
Users: 4,200 (2008)
Users rank: 205

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1 (2009)
Rank: 214
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2009)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 8 km
Rank: 219
Paved: 8 km (2002)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 80
Rank: 55
By type: bulk carrier 7 cargo 30 chemical tanker 14 container 2 passenger 2 passenger/cargo 1 petroleum tanker 22 refrigerated cargo 1 specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: 63 (China 16 Hong Kong 7 Kenya 1 South Korea 1 Malaysia 1 Maldives 1 Norway 1 Russia 2 Singapore 23 Thailand 1 Turkey 2 Ukraine 1 US 1 Vietnam 5) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Funafuti


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs