Tuvalu

Location : Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia 

Capital : Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

Languages : Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) 

Area : 26 sq km

Land Use: arable land: 10.95%; p ermanent crops: 4.65%; o ther: 84.4% (2001)

Natural Resources : fish

Population : 11,636 (July 2005 est.)

Labour force : 7,000 (2001 est.) 

Labour force participation rate : 60.16% of population (2001 est.)

International Organisation participation : ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, SPARTECA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

GDP per capita : U$1,100 (2000 est.)

GDP Real Growth Rate : 3% (2000 est.)

Industries: fishing, tourism, copra 

Agriculture - products : coconuts; fish

Exports : U$1 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities : copra, fish

Exports - partners : Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)

Imports : U $79 million c.i.f. (2002)

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)

QUALITATIVE TRADE PROFILE

Tuvalu 's economy is dependent on fishing licences, remittances from overseas workers, small-scale copra exports, sale of postage stamps and coins, sale of passports and resale of rights to international telephone codes. None of these industries involve high numbers of workers and so it is unsurprising that Tuvalu has a high unemployment rate. Nevertheless for the 1988-1998 period, GDP growth averaged 5.2% and was among the highest in the Pacific region.  

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Bilateral

Tuvalu has a non-reciprocal trade agreement with Fiji.

Regional

Tuvalu is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum. It has also signed the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), under which member countries agree to liberalize trade in goods. It also has duty-free access to the Australian and New Zealand markets under the South Pacific Agreement on Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation (SPARTECA). It is currently negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU through the Pacific configuration.

Multilateral

Tuvalu is neither a member nor an observer of the WTO.

Source: Commonwealth Yearbook 2005, UNCTAD, World Fact Book.