n (November to March)

Terrain: very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100%
note: Tuvalu's nine coral atolls have enough soil to grow coconuts
and support subsistence agriculture

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater
is not potable, all water needs must be met by catchment systems
with storage facilities; 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
natural hazards: severe tropical storms are rare
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

People
------

Population: 10,146 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 1,865; female 1,798)
15-64 years: 59% (male 2,831; female 3,162)
65 years and over: 5% (male 227; female 263) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.51% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.95 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.34 years
male: 62.15 years
female: 64.59 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.11 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian 96%

Religions: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day
Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%

Languages: Tuvaluan, English

Literacy: NA

Government
----------

Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu
former: Ellice Islands

Data code: TV

Type of government: democracy; began debating republic status in
1992

Capita