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Tuvalu is a Pacific Island country of 9 low-lying coral atolls, humid tropical climate and high rainfall, with limited land area, high mean population densities, and an Environmental Vulnerability Index of 3.6. Tuvalu has a GDP per capita of US$1,681. 30% of GDP is attributable to government wages, with 40% from public enterprises. The private sector contributes approximately 30% of GDP of which half is from external remittances.

Tuvalu, which consists of nine coral atoll islands, is widely dispersed over 1.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean stretching in a north-south direction over some 560 kilometres between latitudes 5 and 11 degrees south and over longitudes 176 and 180 degrees east. The total land area of the country is approximately 25.6 square kilometres, which is relatively evenly distributed across the nine atolls. The land is low lying with no point higher than four metres above sea level. Coastal erosion is a major problem for most islands of the group and, without proper control measures; the total land area of the country will be detrimentally affected.

The current population of Tuvalu is 9,561 and is relatively steady though there is a migration from the outer islands to the capital, Funafuti. Tuvalu has a limited migration scheme with the New Zealand government. Part of the reason for this scheme is to allow families that are impacted by climate change and sea level rise to move to safer land.

Tuvalu is a ‘special case’ (Agenda21, UNCED1992), challenged by its unique vulnerabilities. Its sovereignty rights and unique island features provide it with amazing beauty and potential opportunities. But its extreme small size, and geographical fragmentation and isolation also present the country with enormous social, economic and environmental challenges, two of which are of particular concern: its marginalization in global decisions-making impacting on its already vulnerable people, and its long term security to survive and exist as a nation.