Compare Tuvalu (2008) - Pacific Ocean (2003)

Compare Tuvalu (2008) z Pacific Ocean (2003)

	Tuvalu (2008)	Pacific Ocean (2003)

Administrative divisions	none	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 29.8% (male 1,821/female 1,752) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 3,808/female 4,006) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227/female 378) (2007 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	-
Airports	1 (2007)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	-
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
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 Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Birth rate	22.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $22.78 million expenditures: $14.23 million (2002)	-
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	-
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December
Coastline	24 km	135,663 km
Constitution	1 October 1978	-
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	-
Death rate	7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Debt - external	$NA	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu	-
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	-
Disputes - international	none	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
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 remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. 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 grew 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 Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 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	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling 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 - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)	-
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	-
Exports	$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)	-
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	-
Exports - partners	Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006)	-
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	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.6% industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002)	-
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2002 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	0 00 N, 160 00 W
Geography - note	one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the 9 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	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Imports	$9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)	-
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	-
Imports - partners	Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006)	-
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	-
Irrigated land	NA	-
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	3,615 (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)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	-
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005)	-
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	-
Legal system	NA	-
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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.63 years male: 66.38 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)	-
Literacy	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	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references	Oceania	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	-
Merchant marine	total: 74 ships (1000 GRT or over) 568,759 GRT/928,697 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 45, chemical tanker 5, container 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 61 (China 25, Hong Kong 10, Kenya 1, Maldives 1, Romania 1, Russia 4, Singapore 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, US 1, Vietnam 3) (2007)	-
Military branches	no regular military forces; Police Force	-
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 sensitive to changes in sea level	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
Natural resources	fish	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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	11,992 (July 2007 est.)	-
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	1.543% (2007 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	-
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: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.601 male(s)/female total population: 0.954 male(s)/female (2007 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; international calls can be made by satellite	-
Telephones - main lines in use	900 (2005)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	1,300 (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	0 (2004)	-
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
Total fertility rate	2.96 children born/woman (2007 est.)	-
Transportation - note	-	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)
Unemployment rate	NA%	-

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