The Spanish were the first Europeans to see the islands in the 1500s. However, in 1819 an American ship captain, De Peyster, named the main island in the group Ellice's Island after a British politician who owned the cargo aboard his ship. In 1841, the U.S. Exploring Expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes visited three of Tuvalu's islands and welcomed visitors to his ships. Other early interactions with the outside world were far less benign--in 1863, hundreds of people from the southern islands were kidnapped when they were lured them aboard slave ships with promises that they would be taught about Christianity. Those islanders were forced to work under horrific conditions in the guano mines of Peru.

Eventually, the islands came under Britain's sphere of influence as the Pacific was divided up in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a protectorate (1892-1916) and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (1916-74).

During World War II, several thousand American troops were in the islands. Beginning in October 1942, U.S. forces built airbases on the islands of Funafuti, Nanumea, and Nukufetau. Friendly cooperation was the hallmark of relations between the local people and the troops, mainly U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy SeaBees. The airstrip in the capital of Funafuti, originally built by the U.S. during the war, is still in use, as is the "American Passage" that was blasted through Nanumea's reef by SeaBees assisted by local divers.

In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully independent in 1978 and in 1979 signed a treaty of friendship with the United States, which recognized Tuvalu's possession of four small islands formerly claimed by the United States.

The economy suffers from Tuvalu's remoteness and lack of economies of scale. Virtually the only jobs in the islands that pay a steady wage or salary are with the government. Subsistence farming and fishing remain the primary economic activities, particularly off the capital island of Funafuti. There is no apparent huge disparity between rich and poor in the country.

The Australian dollar (A$) is the currency of Tuvalu. Tuvalu's GDP per capita was about U.S.$2,020 in 2004. Only 30% of the labor force participates in the formal wage economy. The remaining 70% are primarily in rural subsistence and livelihood activities. There is high youth unemployment and few new jobs being created. Meanwhile, there has been an inflow of people from the outer islands to Funafuti. Practical policies are needed for improvements to the livelihoods of the growing numbers of young Tuvaluans who aspire to a more affluent lifestyle than older generations.

About 800 Tuvalu men are employed abroad at any given time as miners in Nauru, or sailors, primarily on German-owned ships. Another 300 sailors are in Tuvalu on well-earned leave between rigorous, 12-plus-month cruises. Remittances from seafarers is a major source of income for families in the country. In 2002, the Asian Development Bank approved an assistance package to upgrade the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute which trains young Tuvaluans so they can work aboard foreign vessels.

The Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF), a prudently managed overseas investment fund, has contributed roughly 11% of the annual government budget each year since 1990. With a capital value of about 2.5 times GDP, the TTF provides an important cushion for Tuvalu's volatile income sources from fishing and royalties from the sale of the dot-TV domain. With an initial capital of about A$27 million at independence, it now totals about A$76 million.

Tuvalu is a safe country of unspoiled natural beauty and friendly people. Due to its remoteness, however, but also the current U.S.$600 return airfare to and from Fiji and the Marshall Islands on Air Fiji, only a handful of tourists visit Tuvalu annually. Almost all visitors are government officials, aid workers, non-governmental organization (NGO) officials or consultants.

Government revenues largely come from sales of stamps and coins, fishing licenses, income from the TTF, and from the lease of its highly fortuitous .tv Internet domain name. Domain name income paid most of the cost of paving the streets of Funafuti and installing street lighting in mid-2002.

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that villages banned new religious groups. In 2003, the island council of Nanumanga reportedly banned the newly formed Tuvalu Brethren Church. The head of the Tuvalu Brethren Church filed a complaint against the island council. In September, the High Court heard the case but at year's end had not rendered a decision.

Tuvalu has a low crime rate. However, visitors should not be complacent regarding personal safety or the protection of valuables.

The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the 70 member police constabulary, the country's only security force. There were no reports that security forces committed human rights abuses.

There were no reports of the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life committed by the Government or its agents.

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these prohibitions.

The police may hold a person for no more than 24 hours without a hearing before a magistrate. There were no reports of police abuse. Warrants are required but rarely were necessary in a state with a population so small that the police as a group literally knew every citizen.

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this provision in practice.

There is a two-tier judicial system. Higher courts include the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court. Lower courts consist of senior and resident magistrates, the Island Court, and the Land Court. The High Court is presided over by an expatriate Chief Justice appointed by the Governor General and generally holds court once a year.

The Constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The Constitution provides that the accused must be informed of the nature of the offense with which they are charged and provided the time and facilities required to prepare a defense. The People's Lawyer (public defender) expressed concern that bureaucratic delays sometimes resulted in several months passing before an accused was informed of the charges. The right to confront witnesses, present evidence, and appeal convictions is provided by law. Procedural safeguards are based on English common law. The services of the independent People's Lawyer are paid by the Government and available to all citizens without charge.

There were no reports of political prisoners.

The Constitution prohibits such practices, and there were no reports that government officials employed them. Local hereditary elders exercised considerable traditional authority, including the right to inflict corporal punishment for infringing customary rules, which can be at odds with the national law. However, during the year, there were no reports of corporal punishment.

The country has one minimum-security prison facility, which is segregated by sex. Adults were held at this facility, and children were remanded to their family's custody. The men's section could accommodate 35 inmates, the women's section 20. During the year, the number of prisoners was far below the maximum capacity; there were no female prisoners at year's end. There also was a holding cell at the police station for detentions of less than 24 hours. Pretrial detainees were usually released on their own recognizance. Pretrial detainees charged with a serious crime, such as homicide, could be held in the prison; in practice, this did not occur.

Detentions longer than a week were rare; more commonly, a person was jailed overnight on charges of inebriation. While prison conditions were somewhat Spartan, they generally met international standards, and complaints were minimal.

The question of prison visits by human rights groups did not arise. Visits by church groups and family members were permitted.

Violence against women was rare. Domestic violence was relatively infrequent and was not a source of societal concern. Rape is a crime punishable by a minimum sentence of 5 years' imprisonment; however, spousal rape is not included in the legal definition of this offense. The People's Lawyer has sought to broaden public knowledge of women's rights, particularly in regard to spousal rape and domestic abuse.

Prostitution and sex tourism are illegal. While there are no laws prohibiting sexual harassment, the Penal Code provides specific recourse against indecent behavior, which includes lewd touching.

Women increasingly held positions in the health and education sectors and were more active politically. In an economy with few wage-paying jobs, women held the clear majority of clerical and retail positions. In 2000, the Government established a Women's Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs; however, it took no significant action during the year.

The Government provided commensurate funding for children's welfare within the context of its total available resources. Education was compulsory for children through age 13. Students competed for academic scholarships to attend universities overseas or participated in vocational training focusing on subsistence farming and maritime training for men and computer or other business training for women.

The Government provided free medical care for children through age 18.

There were no reports of child abuse.

The law prohibits procurement of persons within and across borders for purposes of prostitution, but it does not mention or prohibit trafficking specifically. However, there were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

Internet research assisted by Ali Yousefi