Tuvalu (2004) | Brunei (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none | 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular - daerah); Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong |
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.) |
0-14 years: 30.2% (male 54,038; female 51,833)
15-64 years: 67% (male 125,051; female 110,257) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 4,609; female 5,110) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | rice, vegetables, fruits, chickens, water buffalo |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 2 (2001) |
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.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 5,770 sq km
land: 5,270 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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 Sultanate of Brunei's heyday occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries, when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the less developed countries. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries. |
Birth rate | 21.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.06 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: $2.5 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (1997 est.) |
Capital | Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet | Bandar Seri Begawan |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical; hot, humid, rainy |
Coastline | 24 km | 161 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1 January 1984) |
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: Negara Brunei Darussalam
conventional short form: Brunei |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar | Bruneian dollar (BND) |
Death rate | 7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.38 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $0 |
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 Gene B. CHRISTY
embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507 telephone: [673] (2) 229670 FAX: [673] (2) 225293 |
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 PUTEH ibni Mohammad Alam
chancery: 3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1838 FAX: [1] (202) 885-0560 |
Disputes - international | none | Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in southern Spratly Islands in 1984, but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) | $4.3 million (1995) (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. | This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of GDP. Per capita GDP is far above most other Third World countries, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion although it became a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum. Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.065 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 2.22 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | 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: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 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 | seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
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 |
party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% | Malay 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other 12% |
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) | Bruneian dollars per US dollar - 1.8388 (January 2002), 1.8917 (2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore 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 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: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch; deals with executive matters; note - there is also a Religious Council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters, a Privy Council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters, and the Council of Succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | $1 million f.o.b. (2002) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra, fish | crude oil, natural gas, refined products |
Exports - partners | UK 37.5%, Poland 19.1%, Philippines 9.2%, Australia 9.1%, Fiji 6.2% (2003) | Japan 42%, US 17%, South Korea 14%, Thailand 3% (1999) |
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 | yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million NA (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 45% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 4 30 N, 114 40 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 | close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia |
Heliports | - | 3 (2002) |
Highways | total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.) |
total: 1,712 km
paved: 1,284 km unpaved: 428 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty |
Imports | $79 million c.i.f. (2002) | $1.4 billion c.i.f. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Fiji 47.3%, Australia 13.9%, Poland 10.8%, Germany 10.2%, Japan 8%, New Zealand 6.2% (2003) | Singapore 34%, UK 15%, Malaysia 15%, US 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | 1 January 1984 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 4% (1997 est.) |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction |
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.) |
13.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | 1% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | APEC, ARF, ASEAN, C, CCC, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 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 (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms) |
Labor force | 7,000 (2001 est.) | 143,400 (1999 est.); note - includes foreign workers and military personnel
note: temporary residents make up 41% of labor force (1991) (1999 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) | government 48%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 42%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 381 km
border countries: Malaysia 381 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0.57%
permanent crops: 0.76% other: 98.67% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) | Malay (official), English, Chinese |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas |
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 Legislative Council or Majlis Masyuarat Megeri (a privy council that serves only in a consultative capacity; NA seats; members appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held in March 1962 note: in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the monarch; an elected Legislative Council is being considered as part of constitutional reform, but elections are unlikely for several years |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 67.66 years
male: 65.47 years female: 69.96 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.06 years
male: 71.68 years female: 76.56 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.2% male: 92.6% female: 83.4% (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 | Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM or to median line
territorial sea: 12 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.) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT
ships by type: liquefied gas 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Kingdom 7 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $343 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 5.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 108,921 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 62,864 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 3,005 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | National Day, 23 February (1984); note - 1 January 1984 was the date of independence from the UK, 23 February 1984 was the date of independence from British protection |
Nationality | noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Bruneian(s)
adjective: Bruneian |
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 | typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very rare |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Brunei Solidarity National Party or PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin, president]; the PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei; it was registered in 1985, but became largely inactive after 1988, it was revived in 1995 and again in 1998; it has less than 200 registered party members; other parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965, deregistered by the Brunei Government in 1988) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 11,468 (July 2004 est.) | 350,898 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.44% (2004 est.) | 2.06% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Funafuti, Nukufetau | Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 329,000 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 13 km (private line)
narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge (2001 est.) |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs and other 10% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none |
Telephone system | general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688 |
general assessment: service throughout country is excellent; international service good to Europe, US, and East Asia
domestic: every service available international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); digital submarine cable links to Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 700 (2002) | 79,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 43,524 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.4 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 10% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m |