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Location: Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral
atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from
Hawaii to Australia
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 178 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 24 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March
to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Terrain: very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: severe tropical storms are usually rare,
but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low-level of islands make
them very sensitive to sea-level rise
Environment - current issues: since there are no streams
or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must
be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese
Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one
other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building
materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as
fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns
starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse
gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten
the country's underground water table
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Background: In 1974, ethnic differences within the British
colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians
of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians
of the Gilbert Islands.
The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British
colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu
negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for
$50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.
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