Libya (2001) | Tuvalu (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | none |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,851; female 1,785)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 3,335; female 3,607) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 233; female 335) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. | 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 | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.44 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tripoli | Fongafale |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 24 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 | 1 October 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
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 | Libyan dinar (LYD) | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Libya does not have an embassy 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 | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.4 million (1995) | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan, Australia, and the US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. | 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, with 1999 payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries at about $9 million, a total which is expected to rise annually. 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 raise GDP 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 investment income from overseas assets. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | 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:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Tomasi PUAPUA, M.D. (since 26 June 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Saufatu SOPOANGA (since 2 August 2002) 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 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA elected prime minister; Parliamentary vote - Saufatu SOPOANGA 8, Amasone KILEI 7 |
Exports | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) | Sweden, Fiji, Iceland, Germany, Greece (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 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 |
Highways | total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
total: 19.5 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 19.5 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) | Fiji, Australia, Portugal, NZ (2000) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.5% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | 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 | 1.5 million (2000 est.) | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) | 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 | total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | 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:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.98 years
male: 64.83 years female: 69.23 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
definition: percentage of people over the age of 15 who can read and write
total population: 55% (1996) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | 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 | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,021 GRT/52,198 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99/00) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | 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 | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements | none |
Population | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
11,146 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 1.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah | Funafuti, Nukufetau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | 1.35 million (1997) | 4,000 (1997) |
Railways | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1996) | 1,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |