Demographic features of thepopulation ofTuvalu include the age structure,ethnicity, education level,life expectancy,religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The population of Tuvalu is predominately ofPolynesian ethnicity with approximately 5.6% of the population beingMicronesian.[1]Tuvaluans are ethnically related to the people ofSamoa andTonga. There is evidence for a dual genetic origin of Pacific Islanders inAsia andMelanesia, which results from an analysis ofY chromosome (NRY) andmitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. There is also evidence ofFiji playing a pivotal role in west-to-east expansion within Polynesia.[2] The pattern of settlement believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from theSamoan Islands into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into thePolynesian Outlier communities inMelanesia andMicronesia.[3][4][5][6]
The vast majority of Tuvaluans belong to theChurch of Tuvalu, aProtestant denomination. Their ancestors were converted byChristian missionaries in the 19th century.
Infant mortality in Tuvalu was 25 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012, with an under-five mortality rate of 30 deaths per 1,000 live births. There has been a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990.[7]
School attendance at school is 10 years for males and 11 years forfemales (2001).[8] Adult literacy rate is 99.0% (2002).[9]
Life expectancy forwomen in Tuvalu is 68.41 years and 64.01 years for men (2015 est.).[8]
The population of Tuvalu is recorded by the Central Statistics Department (CSD) of Tuvalu in the census information:[11]
The net migration rate is estimated at -6.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.).[8] The threat ofglobal warming in Tuvalu is not a dominant motivation for migration as Tuvaluans appear to prefer to continue living on the islands for reasons of lifestyle, culture and identity.[12]
The Census Monograph on Migration, Urbanization and Youth provides an analysis of the 2012 census and reported:[13]
| 1979 Census | 1985 Census | 1991 Census | 2002 Census | 2012 Census | 2017 Census | 2022 Census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,349[14] | 8,229[14] | 9,043[14] | 9,359[14] | 10,640[14] | 10,507[14] | 10,632[14] |
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 5 488 | 5 157 | 10 645 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 625 | 535 | 1 160 | 10.90 |
| 5–9 | 628 | 577 | 1 205 | 11.32 |
| 10–14 | 541 | 471 | 1 012 | 9.51 |
| 15–19 | 499 | 454 | 953 | 8.95 |
| 20–24 | 482 | 458 | 940 | 8.83 |
| 25–29 | 502 | 421 | 923 | 8.67 |
| 30–34 | 407 | 362 | 769 | 7.22 |
| 35–39 | 299 | 280 | 579 | 5.44 |
| 40–44 | 242 | 212 | 454 | 4.26 |
| 45–49 | 251 | 227 | 478 | 4.49 |
| 50–54 | 314 | 272 | 586 | 5.50 |
| 55–59 | 257 | 322 | 579 | 5.44 |
| 60–64 | 198 | 223 | 421 | 3.95 |
| 65-69 | 117 | 155 | 272 | 2.56 |
| 70-74 | 64 | 72 | 136 | 1.28 |
| 75-79 | 41 | 58 | 99 | 0.93 |
| 80-84 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 0.55 |
| 85+ | 5 | 15 | 20 | 0.19 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 1 794 | 1 583 | 3 377 | 31.72 |
| 15–64 | 3 451 | 3 231 | 6 682 | 62.77 |
| 65+ | 243 | 343 | 586 | 5.50 |
.png)
| Year[16] | Population[17] | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | TFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 10,574 | 257 | 86 | 171 | 24.3 | 8.1 | 16.2 | 3.449 |
| 2019 | 10,273 | 251 | 140 | 111 | 24.4 | 13.6 | 10.8 | 3.420 |
| 2020 | 10,204 | 309 | 136 | 173 | 30.3 | 13.3 | 17.0 | 4.204 |
| 2021[18] | 10,280 | 276 | 112 | 164 | 26.8 | 10.9 | 16.0 | 3.867 |
| 2022 | 10,597 | 267 | 80 | 187 | 25.2 | 7.5 | 17.6 | |
| 2023 | 10,099 | 232 | 127 | 105 | 23.0 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 3.302 |
From the 2022 census:[19]
The 2013 Census ofNew Zealand reported 3,537 Tuvaluans, an increase of 80% from the 1,965 reported in the 2001 census. In the 2013 census, only about 40% (1,419) had been born in Tuvalu. The high proportion of Tuvaluans who are New Zealand born illustrates the significance of New Zealand as a long term destination for Tuvaluan migrants.[13][20]
The Tuvaluan community inAustralia is recorded in the 2011 Australian Census as 228 people who put Tuvaluan as their first response to a question on ‘ancestry’; of these 120 were born in Tuvalu.[13]The islands ofNanumea,Nanumaga,Nukufetau andNiutao had relatively high net migration losses, with most being internal migrants toFunafuti.Vaitupu had the largest net migration gain, although this is attributed to the location ofMotufoua Secondary School on Vaitupu and the movement of students from the other islands.[13]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)