Demographics of Tuvalu


This article is about the demographic features of the population of Tuvalu, including the age structure, ethnicity, education level, life expectancy, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Summary of the demographics of Tuvalu

The population of Tuvalu is predominately of Polynesian ethnicity with approximately 5.6% of the population being Micronesian. Tuvaluans are ethnically 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 and mitochondrial DNA markers. There is also evidence of Fiji playing a pivotal role in west-to-east expansion within Polynesia.
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.
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.
School attendance at school is 10 years for males and 11 years for females. Adult literacy rate is 99.0%.
Life expectancy for women in Tuvalu is 68.41 years and 64.01 years for men.
The population of Tuvalu is recorded by the Central Statistics Department of Tuvalu in the census information:
1979 Census1985 Census1991 Census2002 Census2012 Census2017 Census
7,3498,2299,0439,35910,64011,192

The net migration rate is estimated at -6.81 migrant/1,000 population. The threat of global 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.
The Census Monograph on Migration, Urbanization and Youth provides an analysis of the 2012 census and reported:
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population