{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "The islands were first populated by voyagers from either Samoa or Tonga in the first millennium A.D., and Tuvalu provided a steppingstone for various Polynesian communities that subsequently settled in Melanesia and Micronesia. Tuvalu eventually came under Samoan and Tongan spheres of influence although proximity to Micronesia allowed some Micronesian communities to flourish in Tuvalu, in particular on Nui Atoll. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Tuvalu was visited by a series of American, British, Dutch, and Russian ships. The islands were named the Ellice Islands in 1819. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1861, eventually converting most of the population, and around the same time, several hundred Tuvaluans were kidnapped by people purporting to be missionaries and sent to work on plantations in Peru and Hawaii.
The UK declared a protectorate over the Ellice Islands in 1892 and merged it with the Micronesian Gilbert Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate became a colony in 1916. During World War II, the US set up military bases on a few islands, and in 1943, after Japan captured many of the northern Gilbert Islands, the UK transferred administration of the colony southward to Funafuti. After the war, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands was once again made the colony’s capital and the center of power was firmly in the Gilbert Islands, including the colony’s only secondary school. Amid growing tensions with the Gilbertese, Tuvaluans voted to secede from the colony in 1974, were granted self-rule in 1975, and gained independence in 1978 as Tuvalu. In 1979, the US relinquished its claims to Tuvaluan islands in a treaty of friendship.
The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987 to provide a longterm economic future for the country. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name \".tv\" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period. The contract was renewed in 2011 for a ten-year period. Tuvalu’s isolation means it sees few tourists; in 2020, Funafuti International Airport had four weekly flights - three to Suva, Fiji, and one to Tarawa. Tuvalu is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change; in 2018, sea levels in Funafuti were rising twice as fast as global averages.
NA
" }, "Exchange rates": { "Currency": { "text": "Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2022": { "text": "1.442 (2022 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2021": { "text": "1.331 (2021 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2020": { "text": "1.453 (2020 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2019": { "text": "1.439 (2019 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2018": { "text": "1.338 (2018 est.)" } } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "99.6% (2021)" }, "electrification - urban areas": { "text": "100% (2021)" }, "electrification - rural areas": { "text": "99% (2021)" } }, "Coal": { "production": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" } }, "Refined petroleum products - production": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2014 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - exports": { "text": "0 bbl/day" }, "Natural gas": { "production": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" } }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2019": { "text": "0 Btu/person (2019 est.)" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "2,000 (2021 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "18 (2021 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "9,000 (2021 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "80 (2021 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "provides fixed-line telephone communications to subscribers on each of the islands of Tuvalu; each island relies on the use of a satellite dish for inter-island telephone communication, internet access, and mobile phone services (2023)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line teledensity is 18 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 80 per 100 (2021)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite" } }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "no TV stations; many households use satellite dishes to watch foreign TV stations; 1 government-owned radio station, Radio Tuvalu, includes relays of programming from international broadcasters (2019)" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".tv" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "7,920 (2021 est.)" }, "percent of population": { "text": "49% (2021 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "450 (2017 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "4 (2017 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "T2" }, "Airports": { "text": "1 (2024)" }, "Roadways": { "total": { "text": "16 km (2022)" } }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "270 (2023)" }, "by type": { "text": "bulk carrier 21, container ship 3, general cargo 29, oil tanker 19, other 198" } }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Funafuti" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "no regular military forces; Tuvalu Police Force (Ministry of Justice, Communications, and Foreign Affairs) (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "Tuvalu has a security pact with Australia; Australia also provides support to the Tuvalu Police Force, including donations of patrol boats