Compare Baker Island (2001) - Tuvalu (2005)

Compare Baker Island (2001) z Tuvalu (2005)

	Baker Island (2001)	Tuvalu (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	none
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.)
Agriculture - products	-	coconuts; fish
Airports	1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with vegetation and unusable (2000 est.)	1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 1.4 sq km land: 1.4 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast.	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.
Birth rate	-	21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $22.5 million expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
Capital	-	Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet
Climate	equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Coastline	4.8 km	24 km
Constitution	-	1 October 1978
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island	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
Death rate	-	7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	NA
Dependency status	unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system	-
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, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	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.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 8 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Environment - current issues	no natural fresh water resources	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
Ethnic groups	-	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
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)
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
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)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of the US is used	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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	3% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates	0 13 N, 176 31 W	8 00 S, 178 00 E
Geography - note	treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife	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
Highways	-	total: 8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
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)
Independence	-	1 October 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	fishing, tourism, copra
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5% (2000 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1993)	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	-	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)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100%	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Languages	-	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Legal system	the laws of the US, where applicable, apply	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) elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 68.01 years male: 65.79 years female: 70.33 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia	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	Oceania
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard	-
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; national police force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Nationality	-	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	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
Natural resources	guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife	fish
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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	uninhabited note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2001 est.)	11,636 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	-	1.47% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one small boat landing area along the middle of the west coast	Funafuti
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	-	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
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.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
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
Telephones - main lines in use	-	700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	0 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	-	0 (2004)
Terrain	low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Total fertility rate	-	3 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA%
Waterways	none	-

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