Tuvalu Passport

【 Country Name 】 Tuvalu.

The land area is 26 square kilometers, and the marine exclusive economic zone covers an area of approximately 750000 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 11000 (2021). 96% are Tuvaluans, belonging to the Polynesian ethnic group. The rest are Kiribati people, Europeans, etc. English is the official language, and Tuvalu is the lingua franca. The residents believe in Christianity.

【 Capital 】 Funafuti.

The Head of State is King Charles III of England, and the Governor General is the representative of the King. The current Governor, Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, took office in September 2021.

[Important Festival] Tuvalu Day: October 1st.

【 Overview 】 Located in the southern central Pacific, west of the International Date Line. Composed of nine circular coral islands, eight of which are inhabited, Funafuti is the main island. The coastline is 15 miles long. No rivers. It belongs to a tropical oceanic climate. The average annual temperature is 29 ℃ and the average annual precipitation is 3000 millimeters. The highest point on land does not exceed 5 meters above sea level and is at risk of being submerged due to rising sea levels.

Tuvaluan people live on the island. In 1892, Britain declared Tuvalu and nearby Kiribati as British "protected areas". In 1916, it was incorporated into the British Gilbert and Ellis Islands Colony. In October 1975, it legally separated from Kiribati and adopted the old name Tuvalu (meaning "group of eight islands"). Autonomy was implemented in June 1978 and independence was achieved on October 1st.

The Constitution came into effect on October 1, 1978, upon independence. According to the constitution, the picture shows a member state of the Commonwealth. The British king appointed a governor general based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is elected as a member of parliament. The Cabinet is responsible to the Parliament and consists of the Prime Minister and several ministers. The Attorney General is the primary legal advisor to the government. In June 1986, the constitution was amended and the Governor lost his veto power over government proposals.

[Parliament] A unicameral system consisting of 16 members, 2 from each island, with a term of four years. The current parliament was elected in January 2024, and the current speaker is Iakoba Italeli.

In February 2024, Feleti Teo was elected as the Prime Minister.

Taio served as the head of the Central and Western Pacific Fisheries Commission for a long time. Elected as a Member of Parliament in Tuvalu in 2024.

There are eight judicial institutions, including the Supreme Court, District Courts, and Island Courts. The Supreme Court is presided over by a chief justice to hear appeals from lower courts. If further appeal is to be made, it shall be represented by the Fiji Court of Appeal or submitted to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom for review.

Tuvalu has scarce resources, barren land, backward agriculture, and almost no industry. Listed as one of the least developed countries by the United Nations. Family is the most basic unit of production and life. Collective labor, mainly engaged in fishing and planting coconuts, bananas, taro, and the obtained items are evenly distributed within the family. Foreign exchange income mainly comes from foreign aid, fishing permits, stamps, exports of dried coconut, sales of ". tv" domain names, foreign fishing fees in the Tu Sea area, as well as remittances from seafarers and expatriates working in Nauru phosphate mines.

The main economic data for 2023 are as follows:

Gross Domestic Product: 60 million US dollars.

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 5720 US dollars.

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: 3.9%.

Currency name: Tuvaluan currency, commonly known as Australian dollar.

(Source: International Monetary Fund)

Agriculture and fishery mainly rely on planting coconuts, bananas, taro, and raising poultry, pigs, etc. The fishery resources are abundant, but they lack the ability to be developed.

Transportation is mainly based on water transportation. The capital city of Funafuti has a deep-water port. Tuvalu has irregular shipping routes to countries such as Fiji. Fiji Airways operates flights from Nadi via Suva to Funafuti.

[Finance] The revenue mainly comes from the sale of fishing licenses, Internet telecommunications agreements, overseas remittances and the "Tuvalu Trust Fund". The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987, with its revenue accounting for approximately 15% of the government's annual budget. As of the end of 2020, the market value of the fund was approximately AUD 192 million. The main trading partners are New Zealand and Australia.

Promote primary education and implement free education. There are 10 primary schools, 2 middle schools, and one seafarer training school in the country.

Official establishment of Tuvalu Radio and Television, broadcasting in Tuvalu and English. In 2020, the main media outlet, Tuvaluan Paradise, launched an official website（ http://tuvaluparadise.tv ）You can browse news online.

Tuvalu does not have a regular military force. Set up maritime patrol police to be responsible for maritime search and rescue and supervision.

Diplomacy focuses on the Pacific region. We have close relations with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Fiji, with a High Commissioner's Office in Fiji and diplomatic missions in New York, Brussels, London, and other locations. We have diplomatic relations with Commonwealth member states such as Belgium, Chile, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. It is a member of organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, Commonwealth, World Health Organization, Universal Postal Union, Pacific Islands Forum, Pacific Community, Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Asian Development Bank, etc. Take a radical stance on climate change issues. In August 2019, Tuvalu hosted the 50th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting. In September 2022, Prime Minister Natano went to the United States to attend the US Pacific Island Leaders' Summit. In April 2023, Australian Foreign Minister Huang Yingxian visited Tuvalu. In November 2023, Prime Minister Natano and Australian Prime Minister Albanese signed the Franco Australian Alliance Treaty.