Coral Sea Islands (2004) | Tuvalu (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 1,821/female 1,752)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 3,808/female 4,006) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227/female 378) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coconuts; fish |
Airports | - | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: less than 3 sq km
land: less than 3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 780,000 sq km, with the Willis Islets the most important |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Scattered over some 1 million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on the Willis Islets. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 22.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $22.78 million
expenditures: $14.23 million (2002) |
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 located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Climate | tropical | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 3,095 km | 24 km |
Constitution | - | 1 October 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory
conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands |
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 |
Death rate | - | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
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 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 grew 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. |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | no permanent 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 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 - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
Executive branch | administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories | 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 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 |
Exports | - | $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | - | Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia 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: 16.6%
industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 152 00 E | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
Geography - note | important nesting area for birds and turtles | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the 9 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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 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% (2006) |
Independence | - | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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 | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 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 | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover) (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005) |
Languages | - | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | the laws of Australia, 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 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 68.63 years
male: 66.38 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | NA |
Location | Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of 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 | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 74 ships (1000 GRT or over) 568,759 GRT/928,697 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 45, chemical tanker 5, container 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 61 (China 25, Hong Kong 10, Kenya 1, Maldives 1, Romania 1, Russia 4, Singapore 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, US 1, Vietnam 3) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors | - |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | - | noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | occasional tropical cyclones | 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 | NEGL | fish |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there is a staff of three to four at the meteorological station (2004 est.) |
11,992 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 1.543% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | - |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.601 male(s)/female total population: 0.954 male(s)/female (2007 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 | sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays) | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.96 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |