Demographics of Tuvalu

A Tuvaluan dancer at Auckland's Pasifika Festival

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Tuvalu, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

96% of the Tuvaluans are ethnic Polynesians, closely related to the people of Samoa and Tonga. There is evidence for a dual genetic origin of Pacific Islanders in Asia and Melanesia, which results from an analysis of Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers; there is also evidence that Fiji playing a pivotal role in west-to-east expansion within Polynesia.^[1]

The vast majority of Tuvaluans belong to the Church of Tuvalu, a Protestant denomination. Their ancestors were converted by Christian missionaries in the 19th century.

School attendance at school is 10 years for males and 11 years for females (2001).^[2] Adult literacy rate is 99.0% (2002).^[3]

Life expectancy for women in Tuvalu is 66.9 years and 62.7 years for men (2011 est.).^[2]

The country's population has more than doubled since 1980, with a growth rate of 0.702%. The population at the 2002 census was 9,561,^[4] and the 2012 census was 10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report).^[5] The net migration rate is estimated at -7.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.).^[2]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report)^[5]

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.6% (male 1,656/female 1,569)

15-64 years: 64% (male 3,294/female 3,459)

65 years and over: 5.4% (male 238/female 328) (2011 est.)

Median age

total: 24.1 years

male: 22.7 years

female: 26.1 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

0.702%% (2011 est.)

Birth rate

23.24 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Death rate

9.2 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

Net migration rate

-7.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.042 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 34.52 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 37.56 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 31.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 64.75 years

male: 62.7 years

female: 66.9 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.11 children born/woman (2011 est.)

Nationality

noun: Tuvaluan(s)

adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic groups

Polynesian 96% Micronesian 4%

Religions

Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-day Adventist 1.4%, Bahá'í 1%, other 0.6%, such as the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.^[6]

Languages

Tuvaluan, English, Gilbertese (on the island of Nui)^[7]

See also

• Women in Tuvalu

References

• Central Statistics Division – Government of Tuvalu
• CIA World Factbook
• "Tuvalu: 2010 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Tuvalu". International Monetary Fund Country Report No. 11/46. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.