Tuvalu (2002) | Slovakia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
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: 17.8% (male 495,316; female 471,823)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,903,335; female 1,924,065) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 238,912; female 396,582) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 37 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | about 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. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia was invited to join NATO and the EU in 2002. |
Birth rate | 21.44 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | Fongafale | Bratislava |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 24 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
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: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | 7.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $9.6 billion (2002 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 Ronald WEISER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5441-5148 |
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 Rastislav KACER
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 |
Disputes - international | none | small boundary changes made with Poland in 2003; Hungary has yet to amend status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, who protest the law |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million (1999 est.); note - major donors are Japan, Australia, and the US (1999 est.) | ODA $113 million (2000),; $92 million EU structural adjustment funds (2000 est.) |
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. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government has made excellent progress in 2001-03 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-03, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2004, especially the cutting of budget and current account deficits, the containment of inflation, and the strengthening of the health care system. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 24.41 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 5.141 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.381 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 30.29 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 30.3%
hydro: 16% nuclear: 53.6% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 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 | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
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) | koruny per US dollar - 45.33 (2002), 48.35 (2001), 46.04 (2000), 41.36 (1999), 35.23 (1998) |
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: President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since 24 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002 note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO |
Exports | $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra, fish | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Sweden, Fiji, Iceland, Germany, Greece (2000) | Germany 30.1%, Czech Republic 16.4%, Austria 10.7%, Italy 7.2%, Poland 5.7%, Hungary 4.6% (2002) |
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 equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $67.34 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 4.5%
industry: 34.1% services: 61.4% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 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 | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 19.5 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 19.5 km (2002) |
total: 42,717 km
paved: 37,036 km (including 296 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,681 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
Imports | $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Fiji, Australia, Portugal, NZ (2000) | Germany 24.8%, Czech Republic 16%, Russia 13.5%, Austria 7%, Italy 6.4%, France 4% (2002) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
Infant mortality rate | 22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,740 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 (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | 7,000 (2001 est.) | 3 million (1999) |
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) | industry 29.3%, agriculture 8.9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 30.74%
permanent crops: 2.64% other: 66.62% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) | Slovak (official), Hungarian |
Legal system | NA | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
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 Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 78 (SDKU 28, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 15), opposition 72 (HZDS 36, SMER 25, KSS 11) (as of February 2003, 12 deputies had split from HZDS and formed an independent faction) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.98 years
male: 64.83 years female: 69.23 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.43 years
male: 70.44 years female: 78.64 years (2003 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: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
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: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,574 GRT/16,330 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, 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 (Ground Forces), Air and Air Defense Forces, Home Guards (Territorial Defense Forces), Civil Defense Force, Railway Armed Forces (subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, Post, and Telecommunications) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $406 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.89% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,484,950 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,135,612 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 44,287 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
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 | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Democratic Party or DS [Ludovit KANIK]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | 11,146 (July 2002 est.) | 5,430,033 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2002 est.) | 0.14% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 4,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,668 km
broad gauge: 106 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,511 km 1.435-m gauge (1,567 km electrified) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (2002) |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 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: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,000 (1997) | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 3.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 17.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 172 km (all on the Danube) |