Tuvalu (2001) | Congo, Republic of the (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
33.28% (male 1,862; female 1,796) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 3,241; female 3,529) 65 years and over: 5.12% (male 236; female 327) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 630,985; female 622,024)
15-64 years: 54.3% (male 783,238; female 823,882) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 39,369; female 58,950) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 33 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 27
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total:
26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | 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. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
Birth rate | 21.56 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.2 million expenditures: $6.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $870 million
expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti | Brazzaville |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 24 km | 169 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | constitution approved by referendum in January 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu | chief of mission: Ambassador Robin R. SANDERS
embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | none | most of the Congo River boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan and Australia | $159.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. 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 sale of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could raise GDP three or more times over the next decade. In 1999, with merchandise exports falling and financing reaching less than 5% of imports, continued reliance was placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets to cover the trade deficit. | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. Given a fragile peace, agreements with the IMF and the World Bank, and general international support for reconstruction and development, prospects for structural reform and 4% growth in 2002-03 appear strong. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 406.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 126 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 302 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%
note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
Exchange rates | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Tomasi PUAPUA (since 26 June 1998) head of government: Acting Prime Minister Lagitupu (of Nanumea) TUILIMU (since 8 December 2000); note - TUILIMU took over after Prime Minister Ionatana IONATANA died suddenly of a heart attack on 8 December 2000 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 27 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: results of the last election for prime minister - Ionatana IONATANA elected prime minister; percent of Parliament vote - NA%; Lagitupu (of Nanumea) TUILIMU elected deputy prime minister; percent of Parliament vote - NA%; note - Deputy Prime Minister Lagitupu (of Nanumea) TUILIMU became acting prime minister following the death of Prime Minister Ionatana IONATANA on 8 December 2000 |
chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second seven-year term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7% |
Exports | $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989) | $2.6 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra | petroleum 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | US 20.9%, South Korea 15.5%, China 6.7%, Germany 3.2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 million (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 48% services: 42% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (1999 est.) | 4.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | - | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Highways | total:
8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1996) |
total: 12,800 km
paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $4.4 million (c.i.f., 1989) | $725 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | France 20.5%, US 9.8%, Italy 7.5%, Belgium 3.8% (2000) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 22.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 97.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (1999 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those working abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.5%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.37% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (12 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held NA July 2007); National Assembly - last held 27 May and 26 June 2002 (next to be held by NA May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 83, UDR 6, UPADS 3, other 45 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.65 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 47.71 years
male: 44.27 years female: 51.24 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,135 GRT/68,300 DWT ships by type: cargo 5, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $84 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 702,048 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 356,388 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 32,350 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | 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 | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 25 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 10,991 (July 2001 est.) | 2,958,448
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 2.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | 341,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 22,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 3,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | 1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |