Capital: Funafuti Language: English Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Cities of Tuvalu
General details about Tuvalu
CAPITAL CITY OF Tuvalu: Funafuti LANGUAGE OF Tuvalu: English CURRENCY OF Tuvalu: Australian dollar (AUD) COMMENTS ABOUT Tuvalu: Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. Cities : Funafuti (capital), Fongafale Islands : Nanumanga, Niulakita, Niutao Atolls : Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu Calling code : +688 Time zone : (UTC+12)
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 the next dozen years. CLIMATE OF Tuvalu: tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) RELIGION OF Tuvalu: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% POPULATION OF Tuvalu: 11,468 (July 2004 est.)>> ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Tuvalu: 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 worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. 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 has grown 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%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. 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 investment income from overseas assets.
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CAPITAL CITY OF Tuvalu: Funafuti
