The islands were first populated by voyagers from either Samoa or Tonga in the first millennium A.D., and Tuvalu provided a steppingstone 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, Tuvalu was visited by a series of American, British, Dutch, and Russian ships. The islands were named the Ellice Islands in 1819. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1861, eventually converting most of the population, and around the same time, several hundred Tuvaluans were kidnapped by people purporting to be missionaries and sent to work on plantations in Peru and Hawaii.
The UK declared a protectorate over the Ellice Islands in 1892 and merged it 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 Tuvaluan islands in a treaty of friendship.
The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987 to provide a longterm economic future for the country. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name “.tv” for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period. The contract was renewed in 2011 for a ten-year period. Tuvalu’s isolation means it sees few tourists; in 2020, Funafuti International Airport had four weekly flights - three to Suva, Fiji, and one to Tarawa. Tuvalu is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change; in 2018, sea levels in Funafuti were rising twice as fast as global averages.
land: 26 sq km
water: 0 sq km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 2 m
arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 60% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
other: 6.7% (2018 est.)
11,639 (2023 est.)
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan
Tuvaluan 97%, Tuvaluan/I-Kiribati 1.6%, Tuvaluan/other 0.8%, other 0.6% (2017 est.)
Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
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.)
0-14 years: 29.27% (male 1,745/female 1,662)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 3,703/female 3,664)
65 years and over: 7.43% (2023 est.) (male 318/female 547)
total dependency ratio: 60.9
youth dependency ratio: 50.9
elderly dependency ratio: 10
potential support ratio: 10 (2021)
total: 27.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 26.5 years
female: 28.6 years
0.81% (2023 est.)
22.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
over half of the population resides on the atoll of Funafuti
urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
7,000 FUNAFUTI (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
total: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 31.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 68.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 66.3 years
female: 71.3 years
2.81 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.37 (2023 est.)
23.7% (2019/20)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
21.5% of GDP (2020)
1.19 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
improved: urban: 91.8% of population
rural: 91% of population
total: 91.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 9.2% of population
rural: 9% of population
total: 8.5% of population (2017 est.)
51.6% (2016)
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.)
total: 35.6% (2020 est.)
male: 49.8% (2020 est.)
female: 21.3% (2020 est.)
3.1% (2019/20) NA
66.1% (2023 est.)
women married by age 18: 1.8%
men married by age 18: 1.7% (2020 est.)
NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
water needs met by catchment systems; the use of sand as a building material has led to beachhead erosion; deforestation; damage to coral reefs from increasing ocean temperatures and acidification; rising sea levels threaten water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary
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
tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
agricultural land: 60% (2018 est.)
arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 60% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
other: 6.7% (2018 est.)
urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 6.81 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.01 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 0.01 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 3,989 tons (2011 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 598 tons (2013 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 15% (2013 est.)
0 cubic meters (2017 est.)
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
$55.169 million (2021 est.)
$53.57 million (2020 est.)
$52.77 million (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
2.99% (2021 est.)
1.52% (2020 est.)
13.79% (2019 est.)
$4,900 (2021 est.)
$4,800 (2020 est.)
$4,800 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$40 million (2017 est.)
4.1% (2017 est.)
3.5% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 24.5% (2012 est.)
industry: 5.6% (2012 est.)
services: 70% (2012 est.)comparison rankings:
government consumption: 87% (2016 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 24.3% (2016 est.)
exports of goods and services: 43.7% (2016 est.)
imports of goods and services: -66.1% (2016 est.)
coconuts, vegetables, tropical fruit, bananas, roots/tubers, pork, poultry, eggs, pig fat, pig offals
fishing
-26.1% (2012 est.)
3,615 (2004 est.)
NA
total: 20.6% (2016)
male: 9.8%
female: 45.9%
26.3% (2010 est.)
39.1 (2010 est.)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $87 million (2019 est.)
expenditures: $88 million (2019 est.)
note: revenue data include Official Development Assistance from Australia
25.6% (of GDP) (2013 est.)
37% of GDP (2017 est.)
47.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
106.7% (of GDP) (2013 est.)
note: revenue data include Official Development Assistance from Australia
calendar year
$20.82 million (2021 est.)
$9.015 million (2020 est.)
-$6.051 million (2019 est.)
$2.699 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.087 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$10.266 million (2019 est.)
Thailand 91%, Nigeria 5%, Philippines 3%, South Korea 1% (2021)
tugboats, tuna, nitrile compounds, integrated circuits, electrical power accessories (2021)
$51.187 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$50.792 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$65.24 million (2019 est.)
China 36%, Japan 33%, Fiji 13%, South Korea 9%, New Zealand 4% (2021)
cargo ships, fishing ships, refined petroleum, tankers, tugboats, construction vehicles (2021)
NA
Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1.311 (2017 est.)
1.3442 (2016 est.)
electrification - total population: 99.6% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 100% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 99% (2021)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
0 bbl/day
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
0 Btu/person (2019 est.)
T2
1 (2021)
1
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
total: 8 km (2011)
paved: 8 km (2011)
total: 260 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 23, container ship 3, general cargo 39, oil tanker 24, other 171
major seaport(s): Funafuti
manyapis