Tuvalu (2001) | Tunisia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
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: 25.3% (male 1,316,308/female 1,234,309)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 3,437,880/female 3,418,591) 65 years and over: 6.6% (male 321,287/female 346,576) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 30 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Georgia |
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. | Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGUIBA established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society. |
Birth rate | 21.56 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.2 million expenditures: $6.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $6.799 billion
expenditures: $7.573 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti | Tunis |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Coastline | 24 km | 1,148 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 1 June 1959; amended 1988, 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands |
conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | - |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.09 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $14.71 billion (2004 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 William J. HUDSON
embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis, 2045 La Goulette, Tunisia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] 71 107-000 FAX: [216] 71 962-115 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Nejib HACHANA
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan and Australia | $114.6 million (2002) |
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. | Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Progressive social policies also have helped raise living conditions in Tunisia relative to the region. Real growth slowed to a 15-year low of 1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought and lackluster tourism. Better rains in 2003 and 2004, however, helped push GDP growth above 5% for these years. Tourism also recovered after the end of combat operations in Iraq. Tunisia is gradually removing barriers to trade with the European Union. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges ahead. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 10.05 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 10 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 90 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 10.72 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 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 | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96% | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
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) | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.2455 (2004), 1.2885 (2003), 1.4217 (2002), 1.4387 (2001), 1.3707 (2000) |
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 Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a fourth term; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI 94.5%, Mohamed BOUCHIHA 3.8%, Mohamed Ali HALOUANI 1% |
Exports | $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989) | NA |
Exports - commodities | copra | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
Exports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | France 33.1%, Italy 25.3%, Germany 9.2%, Spain 6.1% (2004) |
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 | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 13.8%
industry: 31.8% services: 54.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (1999 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 34 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration |
Highways | total:
8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1996) |
total: 18,997 km
paved: 12,424 km (including 142 km of expressways) unpaved: 6,573 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.8% (1995) |
Imports | $4.4 million (c.i.f., 1989) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, NZ | France 25.1%, Italy 19%, Germany 8.5%, Spain 5.3% (2004) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 22.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (1999 est.) | 4.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,800 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) | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | NA | 3.55 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2004 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) | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.86%
permanent crops: 13.74% other: 68.4% (2001) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
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 Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.65 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.89 years
male: 73.2 years female: 76.71 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.3% male: 83.4% female: 65.3% (2004 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
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 |
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: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 124,733 GRT/122,664 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 5, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2005) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations | Army, Navy, Air Force (2003) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $356 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.5% (FY99) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
Nationality | noun:
Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
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 | NA |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,059 km; oil 1,203 km; refined products 345 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Al-Tajdid Movement [Ali HALOUANI]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA]; Progressive Democratic Party [Nejib CHEBBI]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
Population | 10,991 (July 2001 est.) | 10,074,951 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 7.6% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 0.99% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Skhira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,152 km
standard gauge: 468 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,674 km 1.000-m gauge (65 km electrified) dual gauge: 10 km 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rails) (2004) |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
general assessment: above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay international: country code - 216; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 1,163,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 1,899,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 13.8% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |