Tuvalu (2001) | Dominican Republic (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 29 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde |
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: 33.7% (male 1,503,344; female 1,439,157)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 2,720,308; female 2,621,539) 65 years and over: 5% (male 206,556; female 230,690) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 29 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total:
26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
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. | Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere. |
Birth rate | 21.56 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.4 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.2 million expenditures: $6.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $2.9 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti | Santo Domingo |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 24 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 28 November 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: none |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | Dominican peso (DOP) |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.4 billion (2001 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 Hans H. HERTELL
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo GUILIANI Cury
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Mobile and Ponce (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan and Australia | $239.6 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 Dominican economy experienced dramatic growth over the last decade, even though the economy was hit hard by Hurricane Georges in 1998. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoy 40% of national income. A US $500 million foreign bond issue in September 2001 will contribute to increased public investment spending. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 8,812.029 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 9.475 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 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 | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96% | white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
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) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 17.310 (January 2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000), 16.033 (1999), 15.267 (1998), 14.265 (1997) |
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 Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Raphael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez elected president; percent of vote - Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 49.87%, Danilo MEDINA (PLD) 24.95%, Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 24.6% |
Exports | $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989) | $5.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | US 87.3%, Netherlands 1.1%, Canada 0.7%, France 0.7% (2000 est.) |
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 | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 million (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $50 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 34% services: 55% (2000) (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (1999 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Geography - note | - | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti) |
Highways | total:
8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1996) |
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40% (1989) (1989) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | $4.4 million (c.i.f., 1989) | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | US 60.5%, Japan 10.4%, Mexico 4.7%, Venezuela 3% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 22.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 33.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (1999 est.) | 5% (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) | ACP, Caricom (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 24 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,590 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 Corte Suprema (judges are elected by a Council made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with the president presiding) |
Labor force | NA | 2.3 million - 2.6 million |
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) | services and government 59%, industry 24%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.08%
permanent crops: 9.92% other: 69% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English | Spanish |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil codes |
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 National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (149 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 24, PLD 3, PRSC 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 83, PLD 49, PRSC 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.65 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.68 years
male: 71.57 years female: 75.91 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.1% male: 82% female: 82.2% (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 | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 6 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.) |
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $180 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,323,088 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,455,887 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 87,404 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
Nationality | noun:
Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
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 | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Collective of Popular Organizations or COP |
Population | 10,991 (July 2001 est.) | 8,721,594 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 1.61% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | 1.44 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 757 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad) narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominican Republic Government Railway) miscellaneous gauge: 240 km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (2000 est.) |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Roman Catholic 95% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote |
Telephone system | general assessment:
serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 709,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 130,149 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 25 (1997) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |