Tuvalu Economy:
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 income from overseas investments.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$12.2 million (2000 est.)
GDP — real growth rate:
3% (2000 est.)
GDP — per capita:
purchasing power parity: $1,100 (2000 est.)
GDP — composition by sector:
agriculture: NA
industry: NA
services: NA
Labor force:
7,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force — by occupation:
NA
Unemployment rate:
NA
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5% (2000 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
Agriculture — products:
Coconuts; fish
Industries:
fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Exports:
$1 million (f.o.b. 2002 est.)
Exports — commodities:
copra, fish
Exports — partners:
Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)
Imports:
$79 million (c.i.f. 2002 est.)
Imports — commodities:
food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports — partners:
Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004)
Debt — external:
NA
Economic aid — recipient:
$13 million (1999 est.)
note: Major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US
Currency:
Australian dollar (AUD)
note: There is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Exchange rates:
Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US$: 1.36 (2004 est.), 1.54 (2003 est.), 1.84 (2002 est.), 1.93 (2001 est.), 1.72 (2000 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
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