Tuvalu (2006) | Guam (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none | none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.2% (male 1,819/female 1,752)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 3,715/female 3,923) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 228/female 373) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.1% (male 30,334; female 27,264)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 50,258; female 45,538) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 5,269; female 5,278) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts; fish | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 5 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | three 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 a 12-year period. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 22.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 23.19 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.78 million
expenditures: $14.23 million; including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Funafuti
geographic coordinates: 8 30 S, 179 12 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 24 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1978 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu local long form: none local short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.29 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu | none (territory of the US) |
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, NY 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 | none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam |
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 remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. About 1,000 Tuvaluans are being repatriated from Nauru, with the decline of phosphate resources there. 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%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. 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. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 771.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 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 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 | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
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% | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% |
Exchange rates | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | the US dollar is used |
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 Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006) 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 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010) election results: Apisai IELEMIA elected Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election on 14 August 2006 |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
Exports | $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra, fish | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2005) | Japan 81.7%, South Korea 6.1%, Canada 2.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.6% NA%
industry: 27.2% NA% services: 56.2% NA% |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.2% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 178 00 E | 13 28 N, 144 47 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 | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 885 km
paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2005) | Singapore 40.5%, South Korea 21.7%, Japan 21.6%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2002) |
Independence | 1 October 1978 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | fishing, tourism, copra | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2003 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 20 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 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) | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 3,615 (2004 est.) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: 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) | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005) |
arable land: 10.91%
permanent crops: 10.91% other: 78.18% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) | English, Chamorro, Japanese |
Legal system | NA | modeled on US; US federal laws 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 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.32 years
male: 66.08 years female: 70.66 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 78.27 years
male: 75.96 years female: 80.9 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 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 | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 196,790 GRT/256,436 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 37, chemical tanker 1, container 2, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 43 (China 23, Hong Kong 8, Kenya 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Thailand 1, Turkey 2) (2006) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
Natural resources | fish | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings | Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben) PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 11,810 (July 2006 est.) | 163,941 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 23% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.51% (2006 est.) | 1.89% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 700 (2002) | 84,134 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2004) | 55,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2004) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.62 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |