Tuvalu

Tuvalu has come to epitomize the approaching catastrophe of worldwide climate change and sea-level rise. Although the island nation has a population of just under 12,000, Tuvalu has become a “poster child” for encroaching environmental disaster, a case that has been well documented through films and newspaper, magazine, and journal articles.

The nation is an island group made up of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. Tuvalu means “eight [Page 1480]standing islands,” and refers to eight islands that have supported the population for at least several hundred years. These islands are Funafuti, Nanumaga, Nanumea, Niutao, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, and Vaitupu. Altogether, Tuvalu is composed of nine atolls and reef islands, and has a land area of just 26 square kilometers and a population of 11,600 people. It is an isolated and culturally distinct nation that gained independence in 1978 from the British and has been a member of the United Nations since 2000.

Tuvalu natives are 96 percent Polynesian and 4 percent Micronesian. The median age of men in Tuvalu is 22.4 years and 26.0 years for women. Women have a higher life expectancy rate than men, with women living to an average of 66.5 years versus men at 62.3 years. The fertility rate in Tuvalu is 3.14 children born per woman. Tuvalu has an infant mortality rate of 38.6 deaths per 1,000 live births for males and 32.22 deaths per 1,000 live births for females. Men and women both attend school for an average of 11 years. The country has poor soil and is highly dependent upon imported food and fuel. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary sources of income. Approximately 15 percent of adult males work abroad on merchant ships, and their remittances contributed nearly $2 million to the economy in 2007.