Compare Tuvalu (2006) - Nicaragua (2005)

Compare Tuvalu (2006) z Nicaragua (2005)

	Tuvalu (2006)	Nicaragua (2005)

Administrative divisions	none	15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte, Atlantico Sur, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas
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: 37.2% (male 1,036,487/female 999,226) 15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,623,065/female 1,638,017) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 73,935/female 94,370) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products
Airports	1 (2006)	176 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 165 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than the state of New York
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.	The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Birth rate	22.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $22.78 million expenditures: $14.23 million; including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $725.5 million expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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	Managua
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline	24 km	910 km
Constitution	1 October 1978	9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000
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: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Death rate	7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$4.573 billion (2004 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 Barbara Calandra MOORE embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074
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	chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003) chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international	none	Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Economic aid - recipient	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)	$541.8 million (2003)
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.	Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs. As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager.
Electricity - consumption	-	2.318 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	6.8 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	15.3 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	2.553 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
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)	gold cordobas per US dollar - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000)
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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
Exports	$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)	738 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
Exports - partners	Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2005)	US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004)
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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.6% NA% industry: 27.2% NA% services: 56.2% NA%	agriculture: 20.7% industry: 24.7% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2002 est.)	4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	13 00 N, 85 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	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
Highways	-	total: 18,712 km paved: 2,126 km unpaved: 16,586 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 45% (2001)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	$9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)	27,950 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2005)	US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004)
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	4.4% (2000 est.)
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
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: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births male: 32.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.7% (2003 est.)	9.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	880 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 or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force	3,615 (2004 est.)	1.93 million (2004 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)	agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005)	arable land: 15.94% permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001)
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Legal system	NA	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
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 National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.32 years male: 66.08 years female: 70.66 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.33 years male: 68.27 years female: 72.49 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 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	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references	Oceania	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
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)	-
Military branches	no regular military forces; Police Force	Army (includes Navy, Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$32.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	0.7% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
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	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Natural resources	fish	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	oil 54 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings	Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups
Population	11,810 (July 2006 est.)	5,465,100 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	1.51% (2006 est.)	1.92% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%	Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	16 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: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	700 (2002)	171,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (2004)	202,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2004)	3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate	2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.)
Waterways	-	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.