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Compare Tuvalu (2003) - Bahamas, The (2002)

Compare Tuvalu (2003) z Bahamas, The (2002)

 Tuvalu (2003)Bahamas, The (2002)
 TuvaluBahamas, The
Administrative divisions none 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Age structure 0-14 years: 31.9% (male 1,838; female 1,772)


15-64 years: 63% (male 3,432; female 3,687)


65 years and over: 5.1% (male 231; female 345) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250)


15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859)


65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products coconuts; fish citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports 1 (2002) 67 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways - total: 30


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 12


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
total: 34 35


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 9


under 914 m: 3 23 (2002)
Area total: 26 sq km


land: 26 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 13,940 sq km


land: 10,070 sq km


water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Connecticut
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. Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate 21.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $22.5 million


expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
revenues: $918.5 million


expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00)
Capital Funafuti Nassau
Climate tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline 24 km 3,542 km
Constitution 1 October 1978 10 July 1973
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: Commonwealth of The Bahamas


conventional short form: The Bahamas
Currency Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Death rate 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $NA $381.9 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 chief of mission: Ambassador J. Richard BLANKENSHIP


embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau


mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370


telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206


FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
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 Joshua SEARS


chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660


FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668


consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) $9.8 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. 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, because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. 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 increase 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. The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs almost half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of the majority of tourist visitors.
Electricity - consumption - 1.432 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production - 1.54 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location 5 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 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 coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998) Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar)
Executive branch chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003)


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 Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)


head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) $535.8 million (2000)
Exports - commodities copra, fish fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999)
Exports - partners UK 58.3%, Italy 16.7%, Denmark 8.3%, Fiji 8.3% (2002) US 28.2%, France 16.5%, Germany 14.1%, UK 12.4% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 July - 30 June
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 aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
agriculture: 3%


industry: 7%


services: 90% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3% (2000 est.) 3.5% (2001)
Geographic coordinates 8 00 S, 178 00 E 24 15 N, 76 00 W
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 strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports - 1 (2002)
Highways total: 8 km


paved: 0 km


unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)
total: 2,693 km


paved: 1,546 km


unpaved: 1,147 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) $1.88 billion (2000)
Imports - commodities food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999)
Imports - partners Hungary 68.2%, Japan 12.9%, Fiji 11.9% (2002) US 31.6%, South Korea 18.2%, Italy 17.4%, Japan 5.8% (2000)
Independence 1 October 1978 (from UK) 10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries fishing, tourism, copra tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate total: 21.34 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.35 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 18.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5% (2000 est.) 1.5% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 19 (2000)
Irrigated land NA sq km NA sq km
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; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Labor force 7,000 (2001 est.) 156,000 (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) tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km 0 km
Land use arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 0.6%


permanent crops: 0.4%


other: 99% (1998 est.)
Languages Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system NA based on English common law
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
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth total population: 67.32 years


male: 65.15 years


female: 69.59 years (2003 est.)
total population: 69.87 years


male: 66.32 years


female: 73.49 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: NA%


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98.2%


male: 98.5%


female: 98% (1995 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, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida
Map references Oceania Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 33,199 GRT/56,187 DWT


ships by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.)
total: 1,076 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,309,187 GRT/45,859,485 DWT


ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 246, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 13, combination ore/oil 22, container 80, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 88, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 120, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 22


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $20 million (FY95/96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 0.7% (FY99)
National holiday Independence Day, 1 October (1978) Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality noun: Tuvaluan(s)


adjective: Tuvaluan
noun: Bahamian(s)


adjective: Bahamian
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 and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources fish salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Political parties and leaders there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders none NA
Population 11,305 (July 2003 est.) 300,529


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 1.42% (2003 est.) 0.86% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Funafuti, Nukufetau Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios - 215,000 (1997)
Railways 0 km 0 km
Religions Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2%
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: 0.67 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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: modern facilities


domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed


international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use 1,000 (1997) 96,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1994) 6,152 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 0 (1997) 1 (1997)
Terrain very low-lying and narrow coral atolls long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate 3.05 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 6.9% (2001 est.)
Waterways none none
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