Tuvalu
Tuvalu
- Background
- Voyagers from either Samoa or Tonga first populated Tuvalu in the first millennium A.D., and the islands provided a stepping-stone 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, a series of American, British, Dutch, and Russian ships visited the islands, which were named the Ellice Islands in 1819. The UK declared a protectorate over islands in 1892 and merged them 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 the Tuvaluan islands in a treaty of friendship.
- Location
- Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way from Hawaii to Australia
- Geographic coordinates
- 8 00 S, 178 00 E
- Map references
- Oceania
- Area
- total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km
water: 0 sq km - Area - comparative
- about the size of Washington, D.C.
- Land boundaries
- total: 0 km
- Coastline
- 24 km
- Maritime claims
- territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm - Climate
- tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
- Terrain
- low-lying and narrow coral atolls
- Elevation
- highest point: unnamed location 5 m
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 2 m - Natural resources
- fish, coconut (copra)
- Land use
- agricultural land: 60% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 60% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
forest: 34.3% (2023 est.)
other: 5.7% (2023 est.) - Irrigated land
- 0 sq km (2022)
- Population distribution
- over half of the population resides on the atoll of Funafuti
- Natural hazards
- 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
- Geography - note
- 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
- Population
- total: 11,824 (2025 est.)
male: 5,865
female: 5,959 - Nationality
- noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan - Ethnic groups
- Tuvaluan 97%, Tuvaluan/I-Kiribati 1.6%, Tuvaluan/other 0.8%, other 0.6% (2017 est.)
- Languages
- Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
- Religions
- 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.)
- Age structure
- 0-14 years: 29.2% (male 1,754/female 1,672)
15-64 years: 63.2% (male 3,736/female 3,675)
65 years and over: 7.6% (2024 est.) (male 326/female 570) - Dependency ratios
- total dependency ratio: 59 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 46.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 12.6 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio: 7.9 (2025 est.) - Median age
- total: 28.1 years (2025 est.)
male: 26.8 years
female: 28.8 years - Population growth rate
- 0.75% (2025 est.)
- Birth rate
- 21.57 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
- Death rate
- 7.78 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
- Net migration rate
- -6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
- Population distribution
- over half of the population resides on the atoll of Funafuti
- Urbanization
- urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) - Major urban areas - population
- 7,000 FUNAFUTI (capital) (2018)
- Sex ratio
- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.57 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.) - Maternal mortality ratio
- 170 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
- Infant mortality rate
- total: 27.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
male: 31.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 24 deaths/1,000 live births - Life expectancy at birth
- total population: 69 years (2024 est.)
male: 66.5 years
female: 71.6 years - Total fertility rate
- 2.76 children born/woman (2025 est.)
- Gross reproduction rate
- 1.34 (2025 est.)
- Drinking water source
- improved: urban: urban: 99% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 99.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 0.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 0.7% of population (2022 est.) - Health expenditure
- Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 20% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 11.2% of national budget (2022 est.) - Physician density
- 1.35 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
- Sanitation facility access
- improved: urban: urban: 96.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 93.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 95.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 3.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 6.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 4.2% of population (2022 est.) - Obesity - adult prevalence rate
- 51.6% (2016)
- Alcohol consumption per capita
- 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.) - Tobacco use
- total: 32.4% (2025 est.)
male: 46.2% (2025 est.)
female: 18.1% (2025 est.) - Children under the age of 5 years underweight
- 2.9% (2019 est.)
- Currently married women (ages 15-49)
- 64.2% (2020 est.)
- Child marriage
- women married by age 15: 0% (2020)
women married by age 18: 1.8% (2020)
men married by age 18: 1.7% (2020) - Education expenditure
- Education expenditure (% GDP): 12.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget): 16.8% national budget (2025 est.) - Literacy
- total population: 100% (2022 est.)
male: 100% (2022 est.)
female: 100% (2022 est.)
- Environmental issues
- limited freshwater resources; beach erosion; deforestation; damage to coral reefs; rising sea levels
- International environmental agreements
- 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 - Climate
- tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
- Land use
- agricultural land: 60% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 60% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
forest: 34.3% (2023 est.)
other: 5.7% (2023 est.) - Urbanization
- urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) - Particulate matter emissions
- 6.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
- Waste and recycling
- municipal solid waste generated annually: 4,000 tons (2024 est.)
- Country name
- conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu
local long form: none
local short form: Tuvalu
former: Ellice Islands
etymology: the name in the local language means "group of eight" or "eight standing together," referring to eight of the country's nine islands; the remaining island, Nui, was left out of the original grouping because its inhabitants spoke a different language; the former name was given in honor of Canadian shipping company owner Alexander Ellice, who owned a ship that visited the islands in 1819 - Government type
- parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
- Capital
- name: Funafuti
geographic coordinates: 8 31 S, 179 13 E
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the town has the same name as the island it is located on; the name may either come from the Polynesian word futi (banana) or the name Futi, one of the wives of a local ruler, with the word funa added as a feminine prefix - Administrative divisions
- 7 island councils and 1 town council*; Funafuti*, Nanumaga, Nanumea, Niutao, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu
- Legal system
- mixed system of English common law and local customary law
- Constitution
- history: previous 1978 (at independence); latest effective 1 October 1986
amendment process: proposed by the House of Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the final reading - International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Citizenship
- 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 - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch
- 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 members selected by the prime minister
election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the prime minister and the parliament; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from members of House of Assembly following parliamentary elections
election results: 2024: TEO was the only candidate nominated by the House of Assembly2019: Kausea NATANO elected prime minister by House of Assembly; House of Assembly vote - 10 to 6 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Parliament (Palamene)
legislative structure: unicameral
chamber name: Parliament of Tuvalu (Palamene o Tuvalu)
number of seats: 16 (all directly elected)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 4 years
most recent election date: 1/26/2024
percentage of women in chamber: 0%
expected date of next election: January 2028 - Judicial branch
- 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 - Political parties
- note: no political parties, but members of parliament usually align in informal groupings
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- 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.comtuvalu.unmission@gov.tvhttps://www.un.int/tuvalu/about - Diplomatic representation from the US
- embassy: the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu
- International organization participation
- 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
- 1 October 1978 (from the UK)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
- Flag
- description: light blue with the UK flag in the upper-left quadrant; the right half of the flag has nine five-pointed yellow stars meaning: the stars represent a map of the country, with each symbolizing an atoll in the ocean
- National symbol(s)
- maneapa (native meeting house)
- National color(s)
- light blue, yellow
- National anthem(s)
- title: "God Save the King"
lyrics/music: unknown
history: used since 1745
- Economic overview
- 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
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $57.055 million (2023 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $54.938 million (2022 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021: $54.568 million (2021 est.) - Real GDP growth rate
- Real GDP growth rate 2023: 3.9% (2023 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2022: 0.7% (2022 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2021: 1.8% (2021 est.) - Real GDP per capita
- Real GDP per capita 2023: $5,800 (2023 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2022: $5,500 (2022 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2021: $5,400 (2021 est.) - GDP (official exchange rate)
- $62.28 million (2023 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 11.5% (2022 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021: 6.2% (2021 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2020: 1.9% (2020 est.) - GDP - composition, by sector of origin
- agriculture: 15.9% (2015 est.)
industry: 7% (2015 est.)
services: 70% (2012 est.) - Agricultural products
- coconuts, vegetables, tropical fruits, bananas, root vegetables, pork, chicken, eggs, pork fat, pork offal (2023)
- Industries
- fishing
- Remittances
- Remittances 2023: 4.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
Remittances 2022: 4.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
Remittances 2021: 4.9% of GDP (2021 est.) - Budget
- revenues: $87 million (2019 est.)
expenditures: $88 million (2019 est.) - Public debt
- Public debt 2016: 47.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
- Current account balance
- Current account balance 2022: $2.713 million (2022 est.)
Current account balance 2021: $14.533 million (2021 est.)
Current account balance 2020: $8.46 million (2020 est.) - Exports
- Exports 2022: $2.232 million (2022 est.)
Exports 2021: $2.745 million (2021 est.)
Exports 2020: $3.089 million (2020 est.) - Exports - partners
- Thailand 88%, Japan 6%, Philippines 3%, Ireland 1%, USA 1% (2023)
- Exports - commodities
- fish (2023)
- Imports
- Imports 2022: $57.388 million (2022 est.)
Imports 2021: $63.962 million (2021 est.)
Imports 2020: $56.947 million (2020 est.) - Imports - partners
- China 42%, Fiji 24%, Japan 11%, Australia 11%, NZ 4% (2023)
- Imports - commodities
- ships, refined petroleum, iron structures, fish, hand tools (2023)
- Exchange rates
- Currency: Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates 2024: 1.515 (2024 est.)
Exchange rates 2023: 1.505 (2023 est.)
Exchange rates 2022: 1.442 (2022 est.)
Exchange rates 2021: 1.331 (2021 est.)
Exchange rates 2020: 1.453 (2020 est.)
- Electricity access
- electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
electrification - urban areas: 100%
electrification - rural areas: 99.1%
- Telephones - fixed lines
- total subscriptions: 2,000 (2021 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 21 (2022 est.) - Telephones - mobile cellular
- total subscriptions: 9,880 (2022 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 99 (2022 est.) - Broadcast media
- no TV stations; many households use satellite dishes to watch foreign TV; 1 state-owned radio station, Radio Tuvalu, includes relays from international broadcasters (2019)
- Internet country code
- .tv
- Internet users
- percent of population: 74% (2023 est.)
- Broadband - fixed subscriptions
- total: 0 (2022 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5 (2022 est.)
- Civil aircraft registration country code prefix
- T2
- Airports
- 1 (2025)
- Merchant marine
- total: 270 (2023)
by type: bulk carrier 21, container ship 3, general cargo 29, oil tanker 19, other 198 - Ports
- total ports: 1 (2024)
large: 0
medium: 0
small: 0
very small: 1
ports with oil terminals: 1
key ports: Funafuti Atoll
- Military and security forces
- no regular military forces; Tuvalu Police Force
- Military - note
- as part of the Falepili Union treaty between Australia and Tuvalu, which entered into force in August 2024, Australia committed to assist Tuvalu in response to a major natural disaster, health pandemic, or military aggression; Tuvalu pledged to mutually agree with Australia any partnership, arrangement, or engagement with any other State or entity on security and defense-related matters in TuvaluTuvalu 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 (2025)