East Asia & Pacific · Upper middle income
Tuvalu: the economy in numbers
Per person: $6,041, or $6,759 at purchasing power parity. Population: 9,492 (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #204 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +3.4%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $21.5 million in 1970, $57.3 million in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $3,790 per person in 1970, $6,041 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 1.6% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1971: 25 of 55.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Highest annual inflation: 12.1% in 2022.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2005: 37.5% of GDP in 2006. IMF forecast for 2031: 2.9%.
Population
1960: 5,598 · 2025: 9,492.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 48.3 years · 2024: 67.3 years.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Life expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 1.6%f | 2.5%f | 2.9%f | |||||
| 2030 | 1.8%f | 2.5%f | 2.8%f | |||||
| 2029 | 2.0%f | 2.5%f | 2.7%f | |||||
| 2028 | 2.3%f | 2.5%f | 2.7%f | |||||
| 2027 | 2.8%f | 3.0%f | 2.8%f | |||||
| 2026 | 3.4%f | 4.3%f | 2.5%f | |||||
| 2025 | $57.3M | $6,041 | $6,759 | 1.6% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 9.49K | |
| 2024 | $56.8M | $5,884 | $6,366 | 3.4% | 0.4% | 6.1% | 9.65K | 67.3 |
| 2023 | $50.5M | $5,144 | $5,904 | 3.5% | 7.0% | 5.8% | 9.82K | 67.1 |
| 2022 | $54.1M | $5,415 | $5,403 | −10.9% | 12.1% | 6.0% | 9.99K | 66.9 |
| 2021 | $61.6M | $6,043 | $5,552 | 0.0% | 6.7% | 10.7% | 10.2K | 65.8 |
| 2020 | $52.3M | $5,030 | $5,205 | −3.0% | 1.6% | 11.5% | 10.4K | 66.4 |
| 2019 | $53.5M | $5,059 | $5,205 | 13.4% | 3.5% | 11.3% | 10.6K | 66.1 |
| 2018 | $48M | $4,467 | $4,442 | 1.4% | 2.2% | 11.7% | 10.8K | 65.9 |
| 2017 | $45.3M | $4,167 | $4,237 | 3.3% | 4.1% | 11.9% | 10.9K | 65.7 |
| 2016 | $41.3M | $3,779 | $4,008 | 4.8% | 3.5% | 11.5% | 10.9K | 65.5 |
| 2015 | $36.8M | $3,353 | $3,778 | 9.4% | 3.1% | 14.4% | 11K | 65.4 |
| 2014 | $38.6M | $3,518 | $3,416 | 1.7% | 1.1% | 16.4% | 11K | 65.3 |
| 2013 | $38.8M | $3,524 | $3,297 | 3.8% | 2.0% | 17.8% | 11K | 65.2 |
| 2012 | $38.9M | $3,559 | $3,142 | −2.9% | 1.4% | 19.3% | 10.9K | 65.1 |
| 2011 | $39.7M | $3,680 | $3,221 | 7.5% | 0.5% | 19.1% | 10.8K | 65.0 |
| 2010 | $32.4M | $3,055 | $2,981 | −2.5% | −1.9% | 21.1% | 10.6K | 64.8 |
| 2009 | $27.9M | $2,662 | $3,064 | −5.6% | −0.3% | 20.6% | 10.5K | 64.7 |
| 2008 | $31.6M | $3,062 | $3,270 | 6.6% | 10.4% | 19.8% | 10.3K | 64.5 |
| 2007 | $28.5M | $2,804 | $3,051 | 6.9% | 2.3% | 32.4% | 10.2K | 64.4 |
| 2006 | $24.3M | $2,414 | $2,814 | 1.3% | 4.2% | 37.5% | 10.1K | 64.2 |
| 2005 | $22.8M | $2,298 | $2,726 | −3.7% | 3.2% | 37.4% | 9.94K | 64.1 |
| 2004 | $22.9M | $2,331 | $2,781 | −1.9% | 2.4% | 9.82K | 64.0 | |
| 2003 | $19.6M | $2,020 | $2,794 | −4.4% | 2.9% | 9.7K | 63.9 | |
| 2002 | $16.6M | $1,729 | $2,886 | 8.3% | 5.1% | 9.62K | 63.8 | |
| 2001 | $14.1M | $1,475 | $2,634 | 0.7% | 1.5% | 9.59K | 63.7 | |
| 2000 | $14.9M | $1,559 | $2,570 | −0.9% | 9.54K | 63.5 | ||
| 1999 | $14.8M | $1,559 | $2,549 | −1.6% | 9.5K | 63.3 | ||
| 1998 | $13.8M | $1,460 | $2,565 | 15.5% | 9.45K | 63.2 | ||
| 1997 | $13.7M | $1,461 | $2,208 | 10.0% | 9.4K | 62.9 | ||
| 1996 | $13.3M | $1,428 | $1,986 | −6.0% | 9.34K | 62.7 | ||
| 1995 | $11.9M | $1,285 | $2,088 | −5.0% | 9.28K | 62.5 | ||
| 1994 | $11.8M | $1,279 | $2,169 | 10.3% | 9.21K | 62.3 | ||
| 1993 | $10.4M | $1,141 | $1,943 | 4.1% | 9.13K | 62.1 | ||
| 1992 | $10.5M | $1,166 | $1,841 | 2.8% | 9.04K | 60.3 | ||
| 1991 | $10.1M | $1,134 | $1,773 | 3.6% | 8.93K | 61.8 | ||
| 1990 | $9.54M | $1,085 | $1,679 | 15.4% | 8.8K | 61.6 | ||
| 1989 | $8.45M | $976 | −1.9% | 8.66K | 61.5 | |||
| 1988 | $7.01M | $823 | 19.3% | 8.52K | 61.4 | |||
| 1987 | $5.02M | $600 | 12.3% | 8.37K | 61.3 | |||
| 1986 | $4.57M | $557 | 22.6% | 8.22K | 61.2 | |||
| 1985 | $3.86M | $480 | −1.8% | 8.05K | 61.1 | |||
| 1984 | $4.48M | $567 | 7.5% | 7.9K | 61.1 | |||
| 1983 | $4.15M | $533 | 9.0% | 7.79K | 60.9 | |||
| 1982 | $4.12M | $537 | −16.0% | 7.66K | 60.7 | |||
| 1981 | $4.77M | $634 | 2.6% | 7.53K | 60.5 | |||
| 1980 | $4.21M | $571 | −0.6% | 7.37K | 60.2 | |||
| 1979 | $4.07M | $566 | −0.4% | 7.18K | 59.9 | |||
| 1978 | $3.8M | $546 | −1.8% | 6.96K | 59.6 | |||
| 1977 | $3.67M | $549 | −3.7% | 6.69K | 59.2 | |||
| 1976 | $3.92M | $612 | −0.8% | 6.4K | 58.8 | |||
| 1975 | $4.01M | $656 | −1.5% | 6.12K | 58.3 | |||
| 1974 | $4.12M | $708 | −1.7% | 5.82K | 57.7 | |||
| 1973 | $3.41M | $601 | −1.9% | 5.68K | 57.2 | |||
| 1972 | $2.97M | $522 | −2.0% | 5.69K | 54.7 | |||
| 1971 | $2.72M | $478 | −1.6% | 5.68K | 56.0 | |||
| 1970 | $2.59M | $457 | 5.66K | 55.3 | ||||
| 1969 | 5.63K | 54.7 | ||||||
| 1968 | 5.62K | 54.1 | ||||||
| 1967 | 5.65K | 53.5 | ||||||
| 1966 | 5.69K | 52.8 | ||||||
| 1965 | 5.71K | 52.1 | ||||||
| 1964 | 5.75K | 51.3 | ||||||
| 1963 | 5.75K | 50.6 | ||||||
| 1962 | 5.7K | 49.8 | ||||||
| 1961 | 5.65K | 49.0 | ||||||
| 1960 | 5.6K | 48.3 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 2001–2010, 2012–2025, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in East Asia & Pacific
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
American Samoa · Australia · Brunei · Cambodia · China · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Kiribati · Laos · Macao · Malaysia · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nauru · New Caledonia · New Zealand · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Samoa · Singapore · Solomon Islands · South Korea · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu · Vietnam
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)