Tuvalu - Economy
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesTuvalu is located Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia. The climate is tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March). The terrain is very low-lying and narrow coral atolls.
Economy - overview
This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends.Economy - overview : 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. Job opportunities are scarce and public sector workers make up the majority of those employed. About 15% of the adult male population work as seamen on merchant ships abroad and remittances are a vital source of income, contributing around $4 million in 2006. Substantial income is received annually from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF), 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 grew from an initial $17 million to an estimated value of $77 million in 2006. The TFF contributed nearly $9 million towards the government budget in 2006 and is an important cushion for meeting shortfalls in the government's budget. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to ensure financial stability and sustainability, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts. Tuvalu also derives royalties from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name, with revenue of more than $2 million in 2006. A minor source of government revenue comes from the sale of stamps and coins. 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. Growing income disparities and the vulnerability of the country to climatic change are among leading concerns for the nation.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per- capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP- denominated GDP values for most of the wealthy industrialized countries are generally much smaller.GDP (purchasing power parity) : $14.94 million (2002 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at official exchange rates (OER) is the home-currency-denominated annual GDP figure divided by the bilateral average US exchange rate with that country in that year. The measure is simple to compute and gives a precise measure of the value of output. Many economists prefer this measure when gauging the economic power an economy maintains vis-a-vis its neighbors, judging that an exchange rate captures the purchasing power a nation enjoys in the international marketplace. Official exchange rates, however, can be artificially fixed and/or subject to manipulation - resulting in claims of the country having an under- or over-valued currency - and are not necessarily the equivalent of a market-determined exchange rate. Moreover, even if the official exchange rate is market-determined, market exchange rates are frequently established by a relatively small set of goods and services (the ones the country trades) and may not capture the value of the larger set of goods the country produces. Furthermore, OER-converted GDP is not well suited to comparing domestic GDP over time, since appreciation/depreciation from one year to the next will make the OER GDP value rise/fall regardless of whether home- currency-denominated GDP changed.GDP (official exchange rate) : $14.94 million (2002)
GDP - real growth rate
This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent.GDP - real growth rate : 3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.GDP - per capita (PPP) : $1,600 (2002 est.)
GDP
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture : 16.6%
GDP - composition by sector - industry : 27.2%
GDP - composition by sector - services : 56.2% (2002)
Labor force
This entry contains the total labor force figure.Labor force : 3,615 (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - note : people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
Unemployment rate
This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.Unemployment rate : NA%
Population below poverty line
Population below poverty line : NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Data on household income or consumption come from household surveys, the results adjusted for household size. Nations use different standards and procedures in collecting and adjusting the data. Surveys based on income will normally show a more unequal distribution than surveys based on consumption. The quality of surveys is improving with time, yet caution is still necessary in making inter-country comparisons.Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% : NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% : NA%
Budget
This entry includes revenues, expenditures, and capital expenditures. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.Budget - revenues : $21.54 million
Budget - expenditures : $23.05 million (2006)
Fiscal year
Fiscal year : calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices.Inflation rate (consumer prices) : 3.8% (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
This entry is an ordered listing of major crops and products starting with the most important.Agriculture - products : coconuts; fish
Industries
This entry provides a rank ordering of industries starting with the largest by value of annual output.Industries : fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate
This entry gives the annual percentage increase in industrial production (includes manufacturing, mining, and construction).Industrial production growth rate : NA%
Electricity
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel : NA
Electricity - production by source - hydro : NA
Electricity - production by source - nuclear : NA
Electricity - production by source - other : NA
Current account balance
This entry records a country's net trade in goods and services, plus net earnings from rents, interest, profits, and dividends, and net transfer payments (such as pension funds and worker remittances) to and from the rest of the world during the period specified. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.Current account balance : -$11.68 million (2003)
Exports
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.Exports : $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities
This entry provides a listing of the highest- valued exported products; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.Exports - commodities : copra, fish
Exports - partners
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.Exports - partners : Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006)
Imports
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise imports on a c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.Imports : $12.91 million c.i.f. (2005)
Imports - commodities
This entry provides a listing of the highest- valued imported products; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.Imports - commodities : food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.Imports - partners : Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006)
Economic aid
Economic aid - recipient - note : includes distributions from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (2006)
Debt - external
This entry gives the total public and private debt owed to nonresidents repayable in foreign currency, goods, or services. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.Debt - external : $NA
Currency (code)
Currency (code) : Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Currency code
Currency code : AUD
Exchange rates
This entry provides the official value of a country's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4217 alphabetic currency code for the national medium of exchange is presented in parenthesis.Exchange rates : Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
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