| People | Tuvalu |
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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. Job opportunities are scarce and public sector workers make up the majority of those employed. About 15% of the adult male population work as seamen on merchant ships abroad and remittances are a vital source of income, contributing around $4 million in 2006. Substantial income is received annually from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF), 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 an estimated value of $77 million in 2006. The TFF contributed nearly $9 million towards the government budget in 2006 and is an important cushion for meeting shortfalls in the government's budget. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to ensure financial stability and sustainability, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts. Tuvalu also derives royalties from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name, with revenue of more than $2 million in 2006. A minor source of government revenue comes from the sale of stamps and coins. 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. Growing income disparities and the vulnerability of the country to climatic change are among leading concerns for the nation. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$14.94 million (2002 est.) |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$14.94 million (2002) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$1,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 27.2%
services: 56.2% (2002) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
void |
Population below poverty line:
|
NA% |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
void |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
3.8% (2006 est.) |
Labor force:
|
3,615 (2004 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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29.69 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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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) |
Unemployment rate:
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NA% |
Budget:
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revenues: $21.54 million
expenditures: $23.05 million (2006) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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1,769 USD per capita |
Public debt:
|
void |
Industries:
|
fishing, tourism, copra |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
NA% |
Electricity - production:
|
void |
Electricity - production per capita:
|
void |
Electricity - consumption:
|
void |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Electricity - exports:
|
void |
Electricity - imports:
|
void |
Oil - production:
|
void |
Oil - production per capita:
|
void |
Oil - consumption:
|
void |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Oil - exports:
|
void |
Oil - imports:
|
void |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
void |
Natural gas - production:
|
void |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
void |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - exports:
|
void |
Natural gas - imports:
|
void |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
void |
Agriculture - products:
|
coconuts; fish |
Current account balance:
|
-$11.68 million (2003) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-959 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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83 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
|
copra, fish |
Exports - partners:
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Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006) |
Imports:
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$12.91 million c.i.f. (2005) |
Imports per capita:
|
1,061 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners:
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Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
void |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
void |
Debt - external:
|
$NA |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
void |
Economic aid - donor:
|
void |
Economic aid - recipient:
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$10.49 million
note: includes distributions from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (2006) |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
862 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
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) |
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
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