Tuvalu (2001) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
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: 27.6% (male 16,463; female 15,872)
15-64 years: 66% (male 39,827; female 37,547) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,247; female 4,237) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices, small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 6 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. |
Birth rate | 21.56 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.2 million expenditures: $6.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti | Kingstown |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 24 km | 84 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 27 October 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $167.2 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan and Australia | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) |
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. | Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a large producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 86 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 92.48 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 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 | pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96% | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
Exports | $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets |
Exports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | France 52.7%, UK 6.9%, Greece 6.4%, Spain 6.4% (2003) |
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 | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 million (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $342 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (1999 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 13 15 N, 61 12 W |
Geography - note | - | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays |
Highways | total:
8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1996) |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation |
Imports | $4.4 million (c.i.f., 1989) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | France 31.4%, US 10.4%, Singapore 10.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, Spain 9%, Italy 5.5% (2003) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 27 October 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -0.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
Infant mortality rate | 22.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (1999 est.) | -0.4% (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, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | NA | 67,000 (1984 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 working abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2001) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English | English, French patois |
Legal system | NA | based on English common 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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by July 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.65 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.35 years
male: 71.54 years female: 75.21 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 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, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 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.) |
total: 704 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk 120, cargo 346, chemical tanker 19, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 51, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large load carrier 4, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 45, roll on/roll off 42, short-sea/passenger 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Angola 2, Argentina 1, Australia 3, Bangladesh 3, Barbados 2, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 16, China 114, Colombia 1, Croatia 7, Cyprus 2, Denmark 13, Egypt 5, Estonia 13, France 17, Germany 10, Greece 134, Guyana 8, Hong Kong 15, Iceland 7, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 3, Italy 21, Kenya 5, South Korea 4, Latvia 7, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 3, Malta 4, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 2, Monaco 6, Netherlands 9, Nigeria 8, Norway 32, Pakistan 6, Panama 3, Poland 3, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 2, Romania 2, Russia 21, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Lucia 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 5, Slovenia 7, Spain 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 8, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 23, Ukraine 8, United Kingdom 11, United States registered in other countries: 25 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
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 | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
Natural resources | fish | hydropower, cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 10,991 (July 2001 est.) | 117,193 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 0.31% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Kingstown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 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: adequate system
domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: country code - 1-784; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 27,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 10,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |