Tuvalu - TV - TUV - TUV - Australia and Oceania

embassy: the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu

0-14 years: 29.27% (male 1,745/female 1,662)

15-64 years: 63.3% (male 3,703/female 3,664)

65 years and over: 7.43% (2023 est.) (male 318/female 547)

8 00 S, 178 00 E

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

severe tropical storms are usually rare, but in 1997 there were three cyclones; low levels of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level

0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

The islands were first populated by voyagers from either Samoa or Tonga in the first millennium A.D., and Tuvalu provided a steppingstone for various Polynesian communities that subsequently settled in Melanesia and Micronesia. Tuvalu eventually came under Samoan and Tongan spheres of influence although proximity to Micronesia allowed some Micronesian communities to flourish in Tuvalu, in particular on Nui Atoll. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Tuvalu was visited by a series of American, British, Dutch, and Russian ships. The islands were named the Ellice Islands in 1819. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1861, eventually converting most of the population, and around the same time, several hundred Tuvaluans were kidnapped by people purporting to be missionaries and sent to work on plantations in Peru and Hawaii.

The UK declared a protectorate over the Ellice Islands in 1892 and merged it with the Micronesian Gilbert Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate became a colony in 1916. During World War II, the US set up military bases on a few islands, and in 1943, after Japan captured many of the northern Gilbert Islands, the UK transferred administration of the colony southward to Funafuti. After the war, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands was once again made the colony’s capital and the center of power was firmly in the Gilbert Islands, including the colony’s only secondary school. Amid growing tensions with the Gilbertese, Tuvaluans voted to secede from the colony in 1974, were granted self-rule in 1975, and gained independence in 1978 as Tuvalu. In 1979, the US relinquished its claims to Tuvaluan islands in a treaty of friendship.

The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987 to provide a longterm economic future for the country. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period. The contract was renewed in 2011 for a ten-year period. Tuvalu’s isolation means it sees few tourists; in 2020, Funafuti International Airport had four weekly flights - three to Suva, Fiji, and one to Tarawa. Tuvalu is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change; in 2018, sea levels in Funafuti were rising twice as fast as global averages.

water needs met by catchment systems; the use of sand as a building material has led to beachhead erosion; deforestation; damage to coral reefs from increasing ocean temperatures and acidification; rising sea levels threaten water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

26.3% (2010 est.)

lowest 10%: NA

highest 10%: NA

tugboats, tuna, nitrile compounds, integrated circuits, electrical power accessories (2021)

Thailand 91%, Nigeria 5%, Philippines 3%, South Korea 1% (2021)

7 island councils and 1 town council*; Funafuti*, Nanumaga, Nanumea, Niutao, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu

coconuts, vegetables, tropical fruit, bananas, roots/tubers, pork, poultry, eggs, pig fat, pig offals

no regular military forces; Tuvalu Police Force (Ministry of Justice, Communications, and Foreign Affairs) (2023)

revenues: $87 million (2019 est.)

expenditures: $88 million (2019 est.)

note: revenue data include Official Development Assistance from Australia

name: Funafuti; note - the capital is an atoll of some 29 islets; administrative offices are in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

geographic coordinates: 8 31 S, 179 13 E

time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: the atoll is named after a founding ancestor chief, Funa, from the island of Samoa

cargo ships, fishing ships, refined petroleum, tankers, tugboats, construction vehicles (2021)

tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

24 km

history: previous 1978 (at independence); latest effective 1 October 1986

amendments: proposed by the House of Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the final reading; amended 2007, 2010, 2013, 2023

Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
1.311 (2017 est.)
1.3442 (2016 est.)

chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu FALANI (since 29 August 2021)

head of government: Prime Minister Feleti Penitala TEO (since 27 February 2024)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from members of House of Assembly following parliamentary elections

election results: 2019: Kausea NATANO elected prime minister by House of Assembly; House of Assembly vote - 10 to 6

calendar year

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 on a blue field symbolizing the nine atolls in the ocean

1 October 1978 (from the UK)

fishing

highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and not less than 3 appeals judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice); appeals beyond the Court of Appeal are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet; judge tenure based on terms of appointment; High Court chief justice appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet; chief justice serves for life; other judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet after consultation with chief justice; judge tenure set by terms of appointment

subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; island courts; land courts

total: 0 km

agricultural land: 60% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 60% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)

other: 6.7% (2018 est.)

mixed legal system of English common law and local customary law

description: unicameral House of Assembly or Fale I Fono (16 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 26 January 2024 (next to be held January 2028)

election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independent 16 (10 members reelected); composition - 15 men, 1 woman; percent women 6.25%

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Independence Day, 1 October (1978)

noun: Tuvaluan(s)

adjective: Tuvaluan

fish, coconut (copra)

one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the nine 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

upper middle-income Pacific island economy; extremely environmentally fragile; currency pegged to Australian dollar; large international aid recipient; subsistence agrarian sector; Te Kakeega sustainable development; domain name licensing incomes

there are no political parties, but members of parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings

major seaport(s): Funafuti

18 years of age; universal

general assessment: provides fixed-line telephone communications to subscribers on each of the islands of Tuvalu; each island relies on the use of a satellite dish for inter-island telephone communication, internet access, and mobile phone services (2023)

domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 18 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 80 per 100 (2021)

international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite

low-lying and narrow coral atolls

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Tuvalu

local long form: none

local short form: Tuvalu

former: Ellice Islands

etymology: "tuvalu" means "group of eight" or "eight standing together" referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands

Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way from Hawaii to Australia

Oceania

0 sq km (2022)

chief of mission: Ambassador Tapugao FALEFOU (since 19 April 2023); note - also Permanent Representative to UN

chancery: 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1104, New York, NY 10017

telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534

FAX: [1] (212) 808-4975

email address and website:
tuvalumission.un@gmail.com

https://www.un.int/tuvalu/about

note - the Tuvalu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the Embassy

.tv

$40 million (2017 est.)

urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

no TV stations; many households use satellite dishes to watch foreign TV stations; 1 government-owned radio station, Radio Tuvalu, includes relays of programming from international broadcasters (2019)

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

name: "Tuvalu mo te Atua" (Tuvalu for the Almighty)

lyrics/music: Afaese MANOA

note: adopted 1978; the anthem's name is also the nation's motto

7,000 FUNAFUTI (capital) (2018)

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

1.19 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

maneapa (native meeting house); national colors: light blue, yellow

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes; for a child born abroad, at least one parent must be a citizen of Tuvalu

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: na

over half of the population resides on the atoll of Funafuti

electrification - total population: 99.6% (2021)

electrification - urban areas: 100% (2021)

electrification - rural areas: 99% (2021)

T2

improved: urban: 91.8% of population

rural: 91% of population

total: 91.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 9.2% of population

rural: 9% of population

total: 8.5% of population (2017 est.)

Tuvaluan 97%, Tuvaluan/I-Kiribati 1.6%, Tuvaluan/other 0.8%, other 0.6% (2017 est.)

Protestant 92.7% (Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu 85.9%, Brethren 2.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.5%, Assemblies of God 1.5%), Baha'i 1.5%, Jehovah's Witness 1.5%, other 3.9%, none or refused 0.4% (2017 est.)

Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)

China 36%, Japan 33%, Fiji 13%, South Korea 9%, New Zealand 4% (2021)

government consumption: 87% (2016 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 24.3% (2016 est.)

exports of goods and services: 43.7% (2016 est.)

imports of goods and services: -66.1% (2016 est.)

highest point: unnamed location 5 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 2 m

23.7% (2019/20)

21.5% of GDP (2020)

Tuvalu has a security pact with Australia; Australia also provides support to the Tuvalu Police Force, including donations of patrol boats

Tuvalu has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within Tuvalu's designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2024)

total population: NA

male: NA

female: NA

total dependency ratio: 60.9

youth dependency ratio: 50.9

elderly dependency ratio: 10

potential support ratio: 10 (2021)

0 cubic meters (2017 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually: 3,989 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 598 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 15% (2013 est.)

particulate matter emissions: 6.81 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.01 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.01 megatons (2020 est.)

production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

1.37 (2023 est.)

66.1% (2023 est.)

0% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.66% of GDP (2019 est.)
2% of GDP (2018 est.)

women married by age 18: 1.8%

men married by age 18: 1.7% (2020 est.)

3,615 (2004 est.)

total: 20.6% (2016)

male: 9.8%

female: 45.9%

-6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

total: 27.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 26.5 years

female: 28.6 years

NA

37% of GDP (2017 est.)
47.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

2.81 children born/woman (2023 est.)

NA

11,639 (2023 est.)

25.6% (of GDP) (2013 est.)

total: 7,920 (2021 est.)

percent of population: 49% (2021 est.)

0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

total: 26 sq km

land: 26 sq km

water: 0 sq km

106.7% (of GDP) (2013 est.)

note: revenue data include Official Development Assistance from Australia

$55.169 million (2021 est.)
$53.57 million (2020 est.)
$52.77 million (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

total: 16 km (2022)

1 (2024)

total: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 31.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total subscriptions: 9,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 80 (2021 est.)

39.1 (2010 est.)

4.1% (2017 est.)
3.5% (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day

$20.82 million (2021 est.)
$9.015 million (2020 est.)
-$6.051 million (2019 est.)

$4,900 (2021 est.)
$4,800 (2020 est.)
$4,800 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

total: 450 (2017 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2017 est.)

total: 35.6% (2020 est.)

male: 49.8% (2020 est.)

female: 21.3% (2020 est.)

51.6% (2016)

0 Btu/person (2019 est.)

7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

22.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

total: 270 (2023)

by type: bulk carrier 21, container ship 3, general cargo 29, oil tanker 19, other 198

3.1% (2019/20) NA

$51.187 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$50.792 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$65.24 million (2019 est.)

$2.699 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.087 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$10.266 million (2019 est.)

total subscriptions: 2,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 18 (2021 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

total: 0.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.69 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total population: 68.7 years (2023 est.)

male: 66.3 years

female: 71.3 years

2.99% (2021 est.)
1.52% (2020 est.)
13.79% (2019 est.)

-26.1% (2012 est.)

agriculture: 24.5% (2012 est.)

industry: 5.6% (2012 est.)

services: 70% (2012 est.)

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

NA

0.81% (2023 est.)