Tuvalu

• tropical;
• moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November);
• westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

mean elevation:

2 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean; 5 highest point: unnamed location

• 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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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

noun:

Tuvaluan(s)

adjective:

Tuvaluan

0-14 years:

29.32% (male 1,675 /female 1,593)

15-24 years:

18.63% (male 1,078 /female 999)

25-54 years:

36.91% (male 2,080 /female 2,034)

55-64 years:

8.86% (male 404 /female 584)

65 years and over:

6.28% (male 274 /female 426) (2018 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.69 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Tuvalu

local long form:

none

local short form:

Tuvalu

former:

Ellice Islands

etymology:

"tuvalu" means "group of eight" or "eight standing together" referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands

name:

• Funafuti;
• note - the capital is an atoll of some 29 islets;
• administrative offices are in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet

geographic coordinates:

8 31 S, 179 13 E

time difference:

UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1978 (at independence); latest effective 1 October 1986 (2017)

amendments:

• proposed by the House of Assembly;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the final reading;
• amended 2007, 2010, 2013 (2017)

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

highest courts:

• 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:

• Appeal Court 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

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Iakoba TAEIA Italeli (since 16 April 2010)

head of government:

Prime Minister Enele SOPOAGA (since 5 August 2013)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the prime minister;
• prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from members of House of Assembly following parliamentary elections

election results:

• Enele SOPOAGA elected prime minister by House of Assembly;
• House of Assembly vote count on 4 August 2013 - 8 to 5;
• note - Willie TELAVI removed as prime minister by the governor general on 1 August 2013

description:

unicameral House of Assembly or Fale I Fono (15 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 31 March 2015 (next to be held in 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote - NA;
• seats - independent 15 (12 members reelected);
• composition - men 14, women 1, percent of women 6.7%

• none;
• the Tuvalu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the Embassy;
• it is headed by Samuelu LALONIU (since 21 July 2017);
• address: 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1104, New York, NY 10017;
• telephone: [1](212)490-0534;
• FAX: [1](212)808-4975

• light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant;
• the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow, five-pointed stars on a blue field symbolizing the nine atolls in the ocean

name:

"Tuvalu mo te Atua" (Tuvalu for the Almighty)

lyrics/music:

Afaese MANOA

note: adopted 1978; the anthem's name is also the nation's motto

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

serves particular needs for internal communications (2015)

domestic:

radiotelephone communications between islands (2015)

international:

country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite (2015)

• no TV stations;
• many households use satellite dishes to watch foreign TV stations;
• 1 government-owned radio station, Radio Tuvalu, includes relays of programming from international broadcasters (2009)

total:

8 km (2011)

paved:

8 km (2011)