Tuvalu:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Tuvalu:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition 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)	Definition - World rank and map $14.94 million (2002 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $14.94 million (2002)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $1,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 16.6% industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002)
Labor force	Definition 3,615 (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition 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	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Population below poverty line	Definition NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 3.8% (2006 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $21.54 million expenditures: $23.05 million (2006)
Agriculture - products	Definition coconuts; fish
Industries	Definition fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map -$11.68 million (2003)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	Definition copra, fish
Exports - partners	Definition Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $12.91 million c.i.f. (2005)
Imports - commodities	Definition food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners	Definition Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $NA
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $10.49 million note: includes distributions from the Tuvalu Trust Fund (2006)
Currency (code)	Definition Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Exchange rates	Definition Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
Fiscal year	Definition calendar year

Tuvalu: Economy

Tuvalu:
Economy