Tuvalu Country Facts

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs                                      
October 2007                                                                  
                                                                       
  Background Note: Tuvalu                                                     
                                                    
  A woman sweeps road as a man passes                                         
  on his scooter in Funafuti, Tuvalu,                                         
  March 22, 2004. [© AP Images]                                               
                                                                       
  Flag of Tuvalu is light blue with flag of U.K. in upper hoist-side quadrant;
  outer half of flag represents map of the country with nine yellow           
  five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands.                            
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Tuvalu                                                                      
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 26 sq. km.                                                            
  Capital: Funafuti.                                                          
  Terrain: Very low lying and narrow coral atolls.                            
  Climate: Tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March-November);      
  westerly gales and heavy rain (November-March).                             
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun--Tuvaluan (s); adjective--Tuvaluan.                       
  Population (2006 est.): 10,000. Age structure (2004 est.)--36% under 14; 6% 
  over 65.                                                                    
  Growth rate (2004 est.): 1.44%.                                             
  Ethnic groups: Polynesians 96%, Micronesians 4%.                            
  Religion: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%; Seventh-day Adventist   
  1.4%, Baha'I 1%, other 0.6%.                                                
  Languages: Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) also  
  spoken.                                                                     
  Education (2004): Literacy--95%.                                            
  Health (2004): Life expectancy--total 61.5 yrs.; male 61 yrs; female 62.    
  Infant mortality rate (2004)--36/1,000.                                     
  Work force (2004 est.): total 6,000; formal sector 2,400.                   
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.               
  Independence (from U.K.): October 1, 1978.                                  
  Constitution: October 1, 1978.                                              
  Branches: Executive--Governor General is appointed by the British monarch on
  recommendation of the Prime Minister, who is head of the government.        
  Legislative--unicameral Parliament, also called House of Assembly (15 seats;
  members elected by popular vote to serve 4-year term). Judicial--High Court 
  with eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction). Rulings from High Court
  can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji.                             
  Major political parties: None.                                              
                                                                       
  Economy (all figures in U.S. $)                                             
  GDP (2005 est.): $20 million.                                               
  GDP per capita (2005 est.): $2,000.                                         
  Industry: Types--fishing, tourism (government and NGO officials on business),
  copra.                                                                      
  Trade: Exports (2005 est.)--$61,400; stamps, copra, handicrafts. Major      
  markets--Fiji, Australia, New Zealand. Imports (2005 est.)--$12.9 million;  
  prepared foodstuffs, mineral products, machinery, animals and animal        
  products. Major sources--Australia, Fiji, Singapore, New Zealand.           
  Currency: Australian dollar (A$).                                           
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY                                                                   
  The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, 
  is situated 4,000 kilometer (2,486 mi.) northeast of Australia. It is       
  half-way from Hawaii to Australia. Tuvalu consists of four reef islands and 
  five true atolls, with poor soil and a total land area of only about 26 sq. 
  km. (10 sq. mi.).                                                           
                                                                       
  Tuvalu has westerly gales and heavy rain from November to March and tropical
  temperatures moderated by easterly winds from March-November. The land is   
  very low lying with narrow coral atolls. The highest elevation is five meters
  above sea level.                                                            
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  96% of Tuvaluans are ethnic Polynesians, closely related to the people of   
  Samoa and Tonga. The vast majority belong to the Church of Tuvalu, a        
  Protestant denomination. Conversion began in the 1860s with the arrival of a
  Congregationalist missionary from the Cook Islands.                         
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  The Spanish were the first Europeans to see the islands in the 1500s.       
  However, in 1819, Captain De Peyster, an American in command of the British 
  merchant ship Rebecca named the main island in the group Ellice's Island    
  after a British politician who owned the cargo aboard his ship. In 1841, the
  U.S. Exploring Expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes visited three of      
  Tuvalu's islands and welcomed visitors to his ships. Other early interactions
  with the outside world were far less benign. In 1863, hundreds of people from
  the southern islands were kidnapped when they were lured aboard slave ships 
  with promises that they would be taught about Christianity. Those islanders 
  were forced to work under horrific conditions in the guano mines of Peru.   
                                                                       
  Eventually, the islands came under British influence in the late 19th       
  century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a       
  protectorate (1892-1916) and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
  colony (1916-74).                                                           
                                                                       
  During World War II, several thousand American troops were in the islands.  
  Beginning in October 1942, U.S. forces built airbases on the islands of     
  Funafuti, Nanumea, and Nukufetau. Friendly cooperation was the hallmark of  
  relations between the local people and the troops, mainly U.S. Marines and  
  U.S. Navy SeaBees. The airstrip in the capital of Funafuti, originally built
  by the U.S. during the war, is still in use, as is the "American Passage"   
  that was blasted through Nanumea's reef by SeaBees assisted by local divers.
                                                                       
  In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as
  Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands, which became Kiribati upon     
  independence. Tuvalu became fully independent in 1978 and in 1979 signed a  
  treaty of friendship with the United States, which recognized Tuvalu's      
  possession of four islets formerly claimed by the United States.            
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT                                                                  
  Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, represented by the Governor General,
  who is appointed by the Queen on advice of the Prime Minister. Members of the
  Parliament elect the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor
  General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The legislative branch is a    
  unicameral Parliament, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members     
  elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms).                             
                                                                       
  Tuvalu maintains an independent judiciary consisting of a High Court and    
  eight island courts. The rulings of the High Court can be appealed to the   
  Tuvalu Court of Appeal.                                                     
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State (Governor General)--Filoimea Telito                           
  Head of the Government (Prime Minister)--Apisai Ielemia (also Minister for  
  Foreign Affairs and Labor)                                                  
  Ambassador to the United Nations--Afelee F. Pita                            
                                                                       
  Tuvalu maintains a diplomatic mission in New York at 800 2nd Ave, Suite 400B
  New York, New York 10017 (tel: 212-490-0534; fax: 212-937-0692).            
                                                                       
  POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                                        
  Democratic values in Tuvalu are strong, with free elections every 4 years by
  universal adult suffrage. There are no formal political parties; election   
  campaigns are largely on the basis of home island/personal/family ties and  
  reputation.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Members of Parliament have very close ties to the islands they represent.   
  Often the northern islands in the country compete against the southern      
  islands, with the capital isle of Funafuti holding the balance of power.    
  Traditional chiefs and island councils also still play significant roles in 
  influencing island affairs, particularly on the outer islands. A long-held  
  distinction between chiefs and commoners is slowly disappearing, and chiefs 
  are now more often selected on merit rather than by birth.                  
                                                                       
  Tuvalu has had a number of prime ministers. This in part reflects the       
  pressures affecting the small nation, including the transition from an      
  exchange economy to a money economy, an adopted system of government with   
  only limited regard for Tuvaluan traditions of decision making, and the lack
  of a clear national path to implement Tuvalu's vision for the future.       
                                                                       
  After elections in August 2006, Apisai Ielemia, a former opposition member of
  Parliament, became Prime Minister. He replaced Maatia Toafa, who took power 
  in October 2004 after a vote of no confidence against his predecessor. Apisai
  Ielemia is the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He also holds the portfolio of
  Minister for Foreign Affairs and Labor.                                     
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  The economy suffers from Tuvalu's remoteness and lack of natural resources. 
  Virtually the only jobs in the islands that pay a steady wage or salary are 
  with the government, and nearly 70 percent of the formal workforce is       
  employed in the public sector. Subsistence farming and fishing remain the   
  primary economic activities, particularly away from the capital island of   
  Funafuti. There is relatively little disparity between rich and poor in the 
  country.                                                                    
                                                                       
  The Australian dollar (A$) is the currency of Tuvalu. Tuvalu's GDP per capita
  was about U.S.$2,000 in 2005. Only about one third of the labor force       
  participates in the formal wage economy. The remaining 70% work primarily in
  rural subsistence and livelihood activities. There is growing youth         
  unemployment and few new jobs are being created.                            
                                                                       
  Some 900-1,000 Tuvaluan men are trained, certified and active as seafarers. 
  The Asian Development Bank estimates that, at any one time, about 15 percent
  of the adult male population works abroad as seafarers. Remittances from    
  seafarers (estimated at U.S. $1.5-3 million per annum) are a major source of
  income for families in the country, and there is a steady annual uptake of  
  young Tuvaluan men to the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute.               
                                                                       
  The Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF), a prudently managed overseas investment fund,  
  has contributed roughly 11% of the annual government budget each year since 
  1990. The TTF was created from donations by Australia, New Zealand and the  
  United Kingdom (along with Tuvalu's own contribution) at independence. The  
  TTF has grown from about A$27 million to some A$100 million (est. 2006).    
  Earnings from the TTF provide an important cushion against Tuvalu's volatile
  income from fishing license fees and royalties from the sale of the dot-TV  
  Internet domain. Initial windfall income from the domain name paid most of  
  the costs of paving the streets of Funafuti and installing street lighting in
  mid-2002. Sales of national stamps and coins provide another minor source of
  income for the government. Tuvalu is a safe country of unspoiled natural    
  beauty and friendly people, but remoteness and lack of infrastructure have  
  constricted Tuvalu's ability to develop its tourism potential.              
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Tuvalu maintains an independent but generally pro-Western foreign policy. It
  maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. It has      
  diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which maintains the only resident embassy 
  in Tuvalu and has a large assistance program in the islands. There is no U.S.
  embassy in Tuvalu, but U.S. diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Fiji are     
  accredited to Tuvalu and visit there regularly.                             
                                                                       
  Tuvalu became a member of United Nations in 2000 and maintains a mission at 
  the UN in New York. Tuvalu's only other diplomatic office is its High       
  Commission in Suva, Fiji. Tuvalu is an active member of the Pacific Islands 
  Forum and a member of the Asian Development Bank.                           
                                                                       
  A major international priority for Tuvalu in the UN and other international 
  fora has been promoting concern about global warming and possible sea level 
  rise. Tuvalu advocates ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Larry M. Dinger                                                 
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Ted A. Mann                                        
  Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Brian J. Siler                       
  Consul--Debra J. Towry                                                      
  Management Officer--Ila S. Jurisson                                         
  Regional Environmental Officer--Joseph P. Murphy                            
  Regional Security Officer--Jim T. Suor                                      
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Fiji, also accredited to Tuvalu, is located at 31 Loftus
  Street, Suva. Tel: 679-331-4466. Fax: 679-330-0081. The mailing address is  
  U.S. Embassy, P.O. Box 218, Suva, Fiji.                                     
                                                                       
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