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

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

People

Population: 10,588 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 1,870; female 1,799)
15-64 years: 61% (male 3,062; female 3,360)
65 years and over: 4% (male 225; female 272) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.34% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 21.91 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 8.5 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 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: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.53 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.15 years
male: 63.01 years
female: 65.34 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.11 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96%

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

Languages: Tuvaluan, English

Literacy: NA; note--education is free and compulsory from ages 6
through 13

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu