Compare Tuvalu (2005) - Syria (2002)

Compare Tuvalu (2005) z Syria (2002)

	Tuvalu (2005)	Syria (2002)

Administrative divisions	none	14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
Age structure	0-14 years: 30.8% (male 1,823/female 1,756) 15-64 years: 64.2% (male 3,620/female 3,847) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 229/female 361) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639) 15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	1 (2004 est.)	99 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 68 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002)
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than North Dakota
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.	Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate	21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	30.11 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: $5 billion expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet	Damascus
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Coastline	24 km	193 km
Constitution	1 October 1978	13 March 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: Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Currency	-	Syrian pound (SYP)
Death rate	7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$22 billion (2001 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 Theodore H. KATTOUF embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
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 Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
Disputes - international	none	Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province
Economic aid - recipient	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)	$199 million (1997 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 income from overseas investments.	Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption	-	17.671 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	-	650 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	-	19.7 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 64% hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 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	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)	Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005) 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 October 2004	chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000
Exports	$1 million f.o.b. (2002)	$5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.)
Exports - partners	Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)	Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.)
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 red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 27% industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2000 est.)	2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	35 00 N, 38 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	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports	-	7 (2002)
Highways	total: 8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)	total: 41,451 km paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets
Imports	$79 million c.i.f. (2002)	$4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.)
Imports - partners	Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004)	Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.)
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	total: 20.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5% (2000 est.)	0.3% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA	12,130 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 Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	7,000 (2001 est.)	4.7 million (1998 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 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)	arable land: 25.96% permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.)
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	NA	based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; 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 People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.01 years male: 65.79 years female: 70.33 years (2005 est.)	total population: 69.08 years male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 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	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	Oceania	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	contiguous zone: 41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM
Merchant marine	total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT by type: cargo 20, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 16 (China 9, Germany 2, Hong Kong 4, Thailand 1) (2005)	total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.)
Military branches	no regular military forces; national police force	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	5.9% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 200,859 (2002 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
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	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	fish	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	-	crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km
Political parties and leaders	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings	National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence
Population	11,636 (July 2005 est.)	17,155,814 (July 2002 est.) note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	15%-25%
Population growth rate	1.47% (2005 est.)	2.5% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	Funafuti	Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	-	4.15 million (1997)
Railways	-	total: 2,750 km standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001)
Religions	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%	Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 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: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite	general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
Telephones - main lines in use	700 (2002)	1.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (2004)	NA
Television broadcast stations	0 (2004)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	3 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	20% (2000 est.)
Waterways	-	870 km (minimal economic importance)

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