Compare Tuvalu (2004) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

Compare Tuvalu (2004) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

	Tuvalu (2004)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

Administrative divisions	none	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 31.3% (male 1,828; female 1,761) 15-64 years: 63.7% (male 3,530; female 3,770) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227; female 352) (2004 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	-
Airports	1 (2003 est.)	1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	-
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	about 0.3 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.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	21.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $22.5 million expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)	-
Capital	Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet	-
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	24 km	698 km
Constitution	1 October 1978	-
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: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar	-
Death rate	7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Debt - external	NA	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	$13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 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, 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.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.
Electricity - consumption	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	-
Ethnic groups	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%	-
Exchange rates	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419, (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999)	-
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 Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004) 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 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 Ocotober 2004	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$1 million f.o.b. (2002)	-
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	-
Exports - partners	UK 37.5%, Poland 19.1%, Philippines 9.2%, Australia 9.1%, Fiji 6.2% (2003)	-
Fiscal 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	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP	purchasing power parity - $12.2 million NA (2000 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2000 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	6 00 S, 71 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	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Highways	total: 8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	-
Imports	$79 million c.i.f. (2002)	-
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	-
Imports - partners	Fiji 47.3%, Australia 13.9%, Poland 10.8%, Germany 10.2%, Japan 8%, New Zealand 6.2% (2003)	-
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA	-
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 20.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5% (2000 est.)	-
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA sq km	0 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)	-
Labor force	7,000 (2001 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)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	-
Legal system	NA	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 67.66 years male: 65.47 years female: 69.96 years (2004 est.)	-
Literacy	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	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Oceania	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 4, Singapore 1, Thailand 1 (2004 est.)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)	-
Nationality	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan	-
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	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Political parties and leaders	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	11,468 (July 2004 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960's and 1970's, in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	1.44% (2004 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Funafuti, Nukufetau	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	700 (2002)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1994)	-
Television broadcast stations	0 (1997)	1 (1997)
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	3.02 children born/woman (2004 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	NA	-
Waterways	-	none

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