Editing Economy of Tuvalu (section)

===Economic vulnerability===
[[File:Tuvalu - Funafuti - Approach.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Funafuti]]]]
From 1996 to 2002, Tuvalu was one of the best performing Pacific Island economies and achieved an average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 5.6% per annum. Since 2002 economic growth has slowed as Tuvalu was exposed to rapid rises in world prices of fuel and food with the level of inflation peaking at 10% in 2008,<ref name="IMF 2010"/> and falling to 0% in November 2010.<ref name="IMF 2010">{{cite web|title= Tuvalu: 2010 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Tuvalu|url= https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=24632.0|publisher= International Monetary Fund Country Report No. 11/46|date=8 February 2011|access-date=4 September 2011}}</ref>

However, due to the acute level of geographic, macroeconomic and financial isolation, scale of area, population infrastructure and agriculture, climate change, oil dependency, contracting GDP and economic dependency many sources in this decade view Tuvalu as an extremely vulnerable economy.<ref name="un.org">{{cite web|title=TUVALU: ECONOMIC OVERVIEW AND MAJOR CHALLENGES|url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/cdp/ldc/profile/plen4c_cdp2009.pdf|work=UN|access-date=20 December 2011}}</ref> The country is also dependent on imported fuel, with gas prices quoted at $12/gal (2009). The high cost of petroleum products has encouraged the development of projects to access [[renewable energy in Tuvalu]].

Although listed by the UN as a Lower Middle Income [[Least developed country|LDC]], it scores very high in terms of Economic Vulnerability Index, with a rating of 79.7 out of 100 in 2009, leading the UN to state that Tuvalu is the most "economically vulnerable country in the world". Due to the factors addressed earlier, Tuvalu yields limited revenue from exports.<ref>{{cite web|title=October 31, 2011, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Background Note: Tuvalu|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/16479.htm|work=U.S.Department of State|access-date=23 December 2011}}</ref>