|
Agriculture > products
|
coconuts; fish |
|
|
|
Asian countries by GDP per capita > GDP Per capita
|
$1,100.00
|
|
[50th of 54]
|
|
Budget > Expenditures
|
$23,050,000.00 |
|
[154th of 165]
|
|
Budget > Revenues
|
$21,540,000.00 |
|
[155th of 166]
|
|
Current account balance
|
-$11,680,000.00 |
|
[60th of 181]
|
|
Economic aid > Recipient
|
$10,490,000.00 |
|
[12th of 134]
|
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. |
Exchange rates Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
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Exports
|
$1,000,000.00 |
|
[58th of 189]
|
|
Exports > Commodities
|
copra, fish |
|
|
|
Exports to US
|
$0.00 |
|
[222nd of 224]
|
|
GDP
|
$12,200,000.00 |
|
[194th of 203]
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity)
|
$14,940,000.00 |
|
[20th of 187]
|
|
GDP > Composition by sector > Agriculture
|
16.6% |
|
[22nd of 146]
|
|
GDP > Composition by sector > Industry
|
27.2% |
|
[26th of 146]
|
|
GDP > Real growth rate
|
3% |
|
[129th of 198]
|
|
Imports
|
$12,910,000.00 |
|
[170th of 185]
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
|
3.8% |
|
[94th of 192]
|
|
Tourist arrivals by region of origin > Europe
|
104 |
|
[180th of 195]
|
|
Trade balance with US
|
$100,000.00 |
|
[101st of 224]
|