Tuvalu

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Embassies and consular services for Tuvalu

Location	Service areas
High Commission for Tuvalu
New Zealand High Commissioner to Tuvalu

Key documents

New Zealand's Four Year Plan for Tuvalu [PDF 1.2 MB]

About Tuvalu

Tuvalu is made up of nine inhabited islands with a population of approximately 11,000. It is the fourth-smallest nation in the world.

New Zealand and Tuvalu share a respectful relationship founded upon sovereign equality and a spirit of close friendship. Our engagement centres on climate change, immigration and health challenges, and our cooperation in regional and multilateral fora on common issues.

Find out more about Tuvalu.

Trade

Tuvalu’s main sources of income are from fishing licence fees (48.5% of domestic revenues in the 2017 budget), revenue from the dot tv internet domain (13.7% of domestic revenues in the 2017 budget), and foreign grants. Government budgets can be supplemented by the income earned from the Tuvalu Trust Fund.

Tuvalu’s major trading partners are Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand. Trade in goods between New Zealand and Tuvalu is modest.

A significant source of private income is remittances from Tuvaluans working overseas. Tuvaluans come to New Zealand to work in our horticulture and wine industries under the RSE scheme(external link).

2018 Statistics

Two-way trade	NZD$9 million*
Goods exports to Tuvalu	NZD$3 million*	Services, wood products, petroleum, machinery and equipment
Goods imports from Tuvalu	NZD$0 million*
GDP	USD$45 million^
GDP per capita	USD$4,096^	NZ GDP per capita is USD$41,267^

Sources: *NZ Trade Dashboard(external link) ^IMF WEO April 2019(external link)

Development cooperation

Our 20-year strategy is for a resilient Tuvalu. That means a focus on initiatives that support sustainable economic growth including growing Tuvalu’s sovereign wealth, ensuring Tuvalu’s infrastructure and services are climate resilient and well-managed, and Tuvalu’s population are more skilled and qualified.

Find out more about our current priorities, achievements and activities in Tuvalu.

Embassies

New Zealand is represented in Tuvalu through the New Zealand-based High Commissioner
Tuvalu is represented in New Zealand by the High Commission of Tuvalu, Wellington

Recent official visits

New Zealand to Tuvalu

February 2019: Deputy Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Winston Peters leads Pacific Mission to Tuvalu for signing of Statement of Partnership [PDF, 509 KB]. Other MPs attending included Minister for Pacific Peoples, William Sio, Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni and MPs Poto Williams, Alfred Ngaro and Darroch Ball.

Tuvalu to New Zealand

February 2018: Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Enele Sopoaga meets Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt. Hon. Winston Peters
June 2017: Prime Minister Sopoaga meets Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gerry Brownlee, Minister for Trade, Todd McClay, Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy