In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands.

The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu.

Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 11,992 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 1,821/female 1,752) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 3,808/female 4,006) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227/female 378) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 24.9 years male: 23.9 years female: 26.2 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.543% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 22.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.601 male(s)/female total population: 0.954 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.63 years male: 66.38 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.96 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan

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Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%

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

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Languages: Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)

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Literacy: NA

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. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. About 1,000 Tuvaluans are being repatriated from Nauru, with the decline of phosphate resources there. Substantial income is received annually from 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 over $35 million in 1999. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. 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.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $14.94 million (2002 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $14.94 million (2002)

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GDP - real growth rate: 1.2% (2002 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,600 (2002 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 16.6% industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002)

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Labor force: 3,615 (2004 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)

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Unemployment rate: NA%

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (2005 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $22.78 million expenditures: $14.23 million; including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2002 est.)

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Agriculture - products: coconuts; fish Industries: fishing, tourism, copra

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Current account balance: $2.323 million (1998)

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Exports: $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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Exports - commodities: copra, fish

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Exports - partners: Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006)

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Imports: $9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

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Imports - commodities: food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods

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Imports - partners: Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006)

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Debt - external: $NA

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Economic aid - recipient: $13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)

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Currency (code): Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar

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Exchange rates: Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year