Millennium development goals: Tuvalu report 2006

Abstract

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.