Tuvalu (2002) | Papua New Guinea (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,851; female 1,785)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 3,335; female 3,607) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 233; female 335) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.6% (male 1,107,568/female 1,070,594)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 1,745,385/female 1,643,830) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 106,487/female 122,023) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 578 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 557
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 58 under 914 m: 489 (2007) |
Area | total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
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. | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. |
Birth rate | 21.44 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 28.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.065 billion
expenditures: $1.924 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Fongafale | name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 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; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 24 km | 5,152 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 16 September 1975 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea local short form: Papuaniugini former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | - |
Death rate | 7.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.813 billion (2006 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 Leslie W. Rowe
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D. mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 | chief of mission: Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
Disputes - international | none | relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan, Australia, and the US (1999 est.) | $NA (2005) |
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. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. 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 lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could raise GDP substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets. | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power and should be the first government in decades to serve a full five-year term. The government also brought stability to the national budget, largely through expenditure control; however, it has relaxed spending constraints in 2006 and 2007 as elections approach. Numerous challenges still face the government including regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including a worsening HIV/Aids epidemic and chronic law and order and land tenure issues. Australia annually supplies $240 million in aid, which accounts for nearly 20% of the national budget. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 3.439 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 3.698 billion kWh (2005) |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 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; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought |
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: Antarctic Treaty, 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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | kina per US dollar - 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003), 3.8952 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Tomasi PUAPUA, M.D. (since 26 June 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Saufatu SOPOANGA (since 2 August 2002) 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 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA elected prime minister; Parliamentary vote - Saufatu SOPOANGA 8, Amasone KILEI 7 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); Deputy Prime Minister Puka TEMU (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister elections: none; monarch is hereditary; governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by chief of state; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by governor general |
Exports | $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra, fish | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns |
Exports - partners | Sweden, Fiji, Iceland, Germany, Greece (2000) | Australia 30.2%, Japan 8.2%, China 5.7% (2006) |
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 upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 36.1%
industry: 36.7% services: 27.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 6 00 S, 147 00 E |
Geography - note | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 19.5 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 19.5 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major consumer of cannabis |
Imports | $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, Portugal, NZ (2000) | Australia 52%, Singapore 12.6%, China 5.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 48.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | ACP, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
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) | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) |
Labor force | 7,000 (2001 est.) | 3.477 million (2006 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 abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) | agriculture: 85%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4% other: 98.11% (2005) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital distict; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 30 June to 10 July 2007; next to be held in June 2012 election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National Alliance 27, PNGP 8, PAP 6, URP 6, PANGU 5, PDM 5, independents 19, others 33; note - election to 1 seat was nullified note: 15 other parties won 4 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.98 years
male: 64.83 years female: 69.23 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.62 years
male: 63.41 years female: 67.95 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: percentage of people over the age of 15 who can read and write
total population: 55% (1996) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.3% male: 63.4% female: 50.9% (2000 census) |
Location | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,021 GRT/52,198 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.) |
total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 56,157 GRT/72,821 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 20, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (2007) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean |
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 | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
Natural resources | fish | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 264 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU PATI [Andrew KUMBAKOR]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Michael OGIO]; People's Action Party or PAP [Gabriel KAPRIS]; United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] (2007) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 11,146 (July 2002 est.) | 5,795,887 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2002 est.) | 2.163% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (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 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.873 male(s)/female total population: 1.043 male(s)/female (2007 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 are adequate; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 63,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 75,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area; stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned) (2004) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills |
Total fertility rate | 3.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) |
Waterways | none | 11,000 km (2006) |