Tuvalu Economy and History

ECONOMY

According to businesscarriers, the country is among the least developed in Oceania; in 2007 the GDP was US $ 30 million and the per capita GDP was US $ 2,811. The primary sector employs a quarter of the workforce, while the secondary and tertiary sectors occupy the remaining 75% overall. The economy is based on agriculture, which participates in the formation of GDP for 16.6%: in particular, coconut palm crops are widespread (from which copra, the only export commodity) and subsistence agriculture (fruit and vegetables); fishing is highly developed, also for the sale of licenses to foreign fleets, and the collection of pink coral is flourishing. § The country imports food, animals, machinery, fuel and manufactured goods. Main trading partners for exports are Germany, Italy and Fiji; for imports, Fiji, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand. In 1991 some deposits of precious metals were discovered, east of Niulakita, but the secondary sector (13.6% of GDP) is mainly characterized by the presence of small textile and food companies. Tourism is limited, due to poor infrastructure development (8 km of roads in 2002) and connections; a port is still active in the country, in Funafuti, and an international airport. The state relies on the aid of Great Britain which, during the 1980s, joined forces with New Zealand and Australia in the establishment of a development fund intended to guarantee Tuvalu a margin of financial independence, on emigrant remittances and on issuing of stamps for collectors. In 2000, the sale of the suffix “.tv” to a Californian company meant a 50% growth in GDP: thanks to the entry of foreign capital, the residents of the country saw their income soar on the remittances of emigrants and on the issue of stamps for collectors. In 2000, the sale of the suffix “.tv” to a Californian company meant a 50% growth in GDP: thanks to the entry of foreign capital, the residents of the country saw their income soar on the remittances of emigrants and on the issue of stamps for collectors. In 2000, the sale of the suffix “.tv” to a Californian company meant a 50% growth in GDP: thanks to the entry of foreign capital, the residents of the country saw their income soar per capita, with a consequent improvement in lifestyle. Offshore financial services are also on the rise, facilitated by limited anti-money laundering regulations. Overall, the tertiary sector participates in the formation of GDP for 69.8%.

HISTORY

The Ellice Islands, discovered between 1781 (by A. Maurelle), 1819 (by Ch. Wilkes), and the following years, were declared a British protectorate in 1892 together with the Gilbert Islands.. In 1915 they formed the Crown Colony of Gilbert and Ellice, administered by the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific Islands. In May 1975 the Ellice broke away from the Gilberts and took the name of Tuvalu; in 1978 they gained independence within the Commonwealth. In the 1980s, after the United States abandoned its territorial claims on some atolls, Tuvalu consolidated its international relations, both with the countries of the region, together with which it promoted the Rarotonga treaty for the denuclearization of the South Pacific (entered into force in 1986), and with the European Union. Moreover, proposals have been expressed in favor of the complete emancipation from Great Britain, to be pursued through the abolition of the establishment of the governor and the transformation of Tuvalu into a republican state. In September 2000 he joined the UN.