e
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.)
note: Tuvalu's nine coral atolls have enough soil to grow coconuts and
support subsistence agriculture

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in
1997, there were three cyclones

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; 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, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

@Tuvalu:People

Population: 10,444 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 1,875; female 1,804)
15-64 years: 60% (male 2,980; female 3,290)
65 years and over: 5% (male 226; female 269) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.4% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 22.6 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26.23 deaths/1,000 live births (