Tuvalu
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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Tuvalu (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 8°31′15″S 179°11′55″E
Tuvalu
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto: "Tuvalu mo te Atua" (Tuvaluan)
"Tuvalu for the Almighty"
Anthem: Tuvalu mo te Atua (Tuvaluan)
Tuvalu for the Almighty
Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
Capital Funafuti
and largest city 8°31′S 179°12′E
Official languages English
Tuvaluan
96% Polynesian
Ethnic groups 4% Micronesian
Religion Church of Tuvalu
Demonym Tuvaluan
Unitary non-partisan parliamentary
Government
constitutional monarchy
• Monarch Elizabeth II
• Governor-General Iakoba Italeli
• Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga
Legislature Parliament
Independence
• from the United
1 October 1978
Kingdom
Area
• Total 26 km2 (10 sq mi) (192nd)
• Water (%) negligible
Population
• 2017 census 11,192 (196th)
• Density 475.88/km2 (1,232.5/sq mi) (27th)
GDP (PPP) 2016 estimate
• Total $39 million[1] (226th)
• Per capita $3,566[1] (156th)
GDP (nominal) 2016 estimate
• Total $32 million[1] (194th)
• Per capita $2,970[1] (118th)
Tuvaluan dollar
Australian dollar
Currency
(AUD)
Time zone UTC+12
Driving side left
Calling code +688
ISO 3166 code TV
Internet TLD .tv
Tuvalu (/tuːˈvɑːluː/ ( listen) too-VAH-loo or /ˈtuːvəluː/ TOO-və-loo), formerly known as the
Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island country located in the Pacific Ocean, situated in Oceania,
about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands
(belonging to the Solomons), southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest
of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It comprises three reef islands and six true
atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of
the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 10,640 (2012 census).[2][3] The total land
area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians. The pattern of settlement that is believed to
have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls,
with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into the Polynesian Outlier communities in
Melanesia and Micronesia.
In 1568, Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to sail through the
archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. The
island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island in 1819; the name Ellice was applied to all nine
islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. The Ellice Islands
came into Great Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, as the result of a treaty
between Great Britain and Germany relating to the demarcation of the spheres of influence in the
Pacific Ocean.[4] Each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British Protectorate by Captain
Gibson of HMS Curacoa between 9 and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered
as a British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916, as part of the British
Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and then as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony
from 1916 to 1976.
A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice
Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976, and the separate British
colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. Tuvalu became fully independent within the
Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of
the United Nations.
