Compare Spratly Islands (2008) - Tuvalu (2003)

Compare Spratly Islands (2008) z Tuvalu (2003)

	Spratly Islands (2008)	Tuvalu (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	none
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 31.9% (male 1,838; female 1,772) 15-64 years: 63% (male 3,432; female 3,687) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 231; female 345) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	coconuts; fish
Airports	3 (2007)	1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: less than 5 sq km land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	NA	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.	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	-	21.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $22.5 million expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
Capital	-	Funafuti
Climate	tropical	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Coastline	926 km	24 km
Constitution	-	1 October 1978
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Spratly Islands	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	-	Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Death rate	-	7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$NA
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	all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.	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 investment income from overseas assets.
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Elevation extremes	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	-	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
Exchange rates	-	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003) 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	-	$276,000 f.o.b. (1997)
Exports - commodities	-	copra, fish
Exports - partners	-	UK 58.3%, Italy 16.7%, Denmark 8.3%, Fiji 8.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
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
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.)
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	8 38 N, 111 55 E	8 00 S, 178 00 E
Geography - note	strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs	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
Heliports	3 (2007)	-
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	-	$7.2 million c.i.f. (1998)
Imports - commodities	-	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners	-	Hungary 68.2%, Japan 12.9%, Fiji 11.9% (2002)
Independence	-	1 October 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	fishing, tourism, copra
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 21.34 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5% (2000 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km	NA sq km
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% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Legal system	-	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: 67.32 years male: 65.15 years female: 69.59 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA% total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines	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	Southeast Asia	Oceania
Maritime claims	NA	contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 33,199 GRT/56,187 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.)
Military - note	Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam	-
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations)
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	typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious 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	fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential	fish
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states	11,305 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	1.42% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Funafuti, Nukufetau
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999)
Railways	-	0 km
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use	-	1,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	0 (1994)
Television broadcast stations	-	0 (1997)
Terrain	flat	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Total fertility rate	-	3.05 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA%
Waterways	-	none

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