Status: Free
Legal Environment: 1
Political Influences: 7
Economic Pressures: 12
Total Score: 20
Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 66
Religious Groups: Church of Tuvalu [Congregationalist (97 percent)], other
Ethnic Groups: Polynesian (96 percent), Micronesian (4 percent)
Capital: Funafuti
The constitution protects freedom of the press. However, in practice media freedom is constrained by the small size of the market and the fact that major media outlets are government funded. The Tuvalu Media Corporation runs the sole radio station as well as a television station that broadcasts sporadically. Tuvalu Echoes, the only national newspaper, is also government owned. All broadcast content must be approved by the secretary to government, who censors stories critical of the government. Tuvalu residents access foreign media without restriction via satellite television and the Internet. The nation's single largest source of income is licensing Internet addresses with the .tv suffix.
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