Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor Prime minister: Willy Telavi Tuvalu has no political parties. Allegiances revolve around personalities and geography. The 15-member parliament is popularly elected every four years. The prime minister is chosen by MPs.
President: Dilma Rousseff
Population
10,619
199,321,413
Life Expectancy
65.110 years
72.790 years
Capital City
Brasilia
Largest city
Funafuti (population: 4,749)
Sao Paulo (population: 10,021,300)
Human Development Index
0
0.807
GDP per capita
$11,900 US
Literacy Rate
%
88.6%
Corruption Perception Index
NA
3.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
9.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Eike Batista ($7.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished except for special circumstances
Political System
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy
federal republic
Independence date
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Religions
Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Languages
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
Exports
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
External Debt
$397,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
reals (BRL) per US dollar - 1.8644 (2008 est.), 1.85 (2007 est.), 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
15
Location
Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Area
26 km sq
8,514,877 km sq
Coastline
24 km
7,491 km
Climate
tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
