Tuvalu (2001) | Seychelles (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
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: 25.9% (male 10,667/female 10,440)
15-64 years: 68% (male 27,060/female 28,366) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 1,607/female 3,401) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; poultry; tuna |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 15 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total:
26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | 2.5 times 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. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. The most recent presidential elections were held in 2001; President RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected. In April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president. |
Birth rate | 21.56 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.03 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.2 million expenditures: $6.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $343.3 million
expenditures: $332.2 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti | name: Victoria
geographic coordinates: 4 38 S, 55 27 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 24 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 18 June 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form: Seychelles local long form: Republic of Seychelles local short form: Seychelles |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | - |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $508 million (2005 est.) |
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 Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jeremie BONNELAME
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | none | together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan and Australia | $16.4 million (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. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. Sharp drops illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf War, and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, and fell in 2003, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2004, erasing a persistent budget deficit. Growth turned negative again in 2005. Tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black-market value of the Seychelles rupee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency, the tourist sector may remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 224.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 241.3 million kWh (2003) |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 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 supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96% | mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab |
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) | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.5 (2005), 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002), 5.8575 (2001) |
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 James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); 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 five-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 28-30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: President James MICHEL elected president; percent of vote - James MICHEL (SPPF) 53.73%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (SNP) 45.71%, Philippe BOULLE 0.56%; note - this was the first election in which President James MICHEL participated; he was originally sworn in as president after former president France Albert RENE stepped down in April 2004 |
Exports | $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra | canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | UK 23%, Spain 19.6%, France 11.4%, Japan 9.7%, Italy 7.4%, Germany 5.7%, Netherlands 5.4% (2005) |
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 | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 30.4% services: 66.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (1999 est.) | -3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 4 35 S, 55 40 E |
Geography - note | - | 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands |
Highways | total:
8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 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) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | Saudi Arabia 16.7%, Spain 14.9%, Singapore 7.6%, France 7.5%, Italy 6.2%, South Africa 6.2% (2005) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | fishing, tourism, processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 22.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (1999 est.) | 1.6% (2005 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, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
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) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | NA | 30,900 (1996) |
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: 10%
industry: 19% services: 71% (1989) |
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: 2.17%
permanent crops: 13.04% other: 84.79% (2005) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English | Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census) |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law, French civil law, 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.65 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.08 years
male: 66.69 years female: 77.63 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 91.4% female: 92.3% (2003 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 | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
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 or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 69,777 GRT/113,501 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) (2006) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations | Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Navy Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $14.85 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun:
Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychellois |
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 outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | fish | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -5.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN] (formerly the United Opposition or UO); Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] (the governing party) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 10,991 (July 2001 est.) | 81,541 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 0.43% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
general assessment: effective system
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 21,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 57,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |