Iceland (2002) | Tuvalu (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 23 counties (syslur, singular - sysla) and 14 independent towns* (kaupstadhir, singular - kaupstadhur); Akranes*, Akureyri*, Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Austur-Hunavatnssysla, Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Borgarfjardharsysla, Dalasysla, Eyjafjardharsysla, Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*, Husavik*, Isafjordhur*, Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*, Myrasysla, Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla, Nordhur-Mulasys-la, Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*, Rangarvallasysla, Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*, Siglufjordhur*, Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hnappadalssysla, Strandasysla, Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Vesttmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla, Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla
note: there may be four other counties |
none |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23% (male 33,189; female 31,155)
15-64 years: 65.1% (male 91,704; female 90,199) 65 years and over: 11.9% (male 14,828; female 18,309) (2002 est.) |
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 | potatoes, turnips; cattle, sheep; fish | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 86 (2001) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 73
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 49 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kentucky | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards. | 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 | 14.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.5 billion
expenditures: $3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (1999) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Reykjavik | Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Climate | temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 4,988 km | 24 km |
Constitution | 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944 | 1 October 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydhveldidh Island local short form: 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 |
Currency | Icelandic krona (ISK) | - |
Death rate | 6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.6 billion (1999) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James I. GADSDEN
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340 telephone: [354] 5629100 FAX: [354] 5629139 |
the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON
chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Denmark over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Denmark, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | none |
Economic aid - donor | $NA | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system, low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant hydrothermal and geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, providing 70% of export earnings and employing 12% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to drops in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. The center-right government plans to continue its policies of reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Consumption, investment, and exports should recover moderately in 2003. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.02 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 7.549 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 83% nuclear: 0% other: 17% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment | 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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
Exchange rates | Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 102.430 (January 2002), 97.425 (2001), 78.616 (2000), 72.335 (1999), 70.958 (1998), 70.904 (1997) | 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: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since 30 April 1991) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: president, which is largely a ceremonial post, elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 29 June 1996 (next to be held NA June 2004); President GRIMSSON ran unopposed in June 2000 so there were no elections; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON ran unopposed in 2000 and was reelected |
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 | $2 billion f.o.b. (2002) | $1 million f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 70%, animal products, aluminum, diatomite, ferrosilicon | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | UK 18.2%, Germany 14.9%, Netherlands 10.9, US 10.3%, Portugal 5.5%, Spain 5.4%, Norway 5.3% (2001) | Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | 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 | purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14% (includes fishing 12%)
industry: 21% services: 65% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,100 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.7% (2002 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 65 00 N, 18 00 W | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe | 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: 12,691 km
paved: 3,262 km unpaved: 9,429 km (1999) |
total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $2 billion (2002) | $79 million c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 12.2%, US 11.1%, Denmark 8.6%, Norway 7.8%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 6.6% (2001) | Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004) |
Independence | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.2% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | 3.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 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% (2001 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice) | 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 | 159,000 (2000) | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, fishing and fish processing 12%, manufacturing 13%, construction 11%, other services 60% (1999) | 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: 0.06%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.94% (23% permanent pastures) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 May 1999 (next to be held by April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 40.7%, Social Democratic Alliance (PA, Social Democratic Party, Women's List) 26.8%, Progressive Party 18.4%, Left-Green Alliance 9.1%, Liberal Party 4.2%; seats by party - Independence Party 26, Social Democratic Alliance 17, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 6, Liberal Party 2 |
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: 79.66 years
male: 77.42 years female: 82.07 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.01 years
male: 65.79 years female: 70.33 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK | 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 | Arctic Region | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
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: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,816 GRT/2,500 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
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 provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik | - |
Military branches | no regular armed forces; Police, Coast Guard | no regular military forces; national police force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $0 | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 71,142 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 62,556 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 17 June (1944) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes and volcanic activity | 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 | fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite | fish |
Net migration rate | -2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Independence Party or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance or LGP [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Sverrir HERMANNSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List)or SDA [Ossur SKARPHEDINSSON]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Sighvatur BJORGVINSSON]; Women's List or WL [Kristin ASTGEIRSDOTTIR] | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 279,384 (July 2002 est.) | 11,636 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2002 est.) | 1.47% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Akureyri, Hornafjordhur, Isafjordhur, Keflavik, Raufarhofn, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur, Straumsvik, Vesttmannaeyjar | Funafuti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 260,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 87.1%, other Protestant 4.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, other 7.1% (2002) | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) |
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 | 196,984 (2001) | 700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 248,131 (221,231 GSM, 26,900 NMT) (2001) | 0 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 0 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 1.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |