Funafuti
Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls spread out from 6° to 10° south. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 10,472 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.95 km2 (0.75 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).
Capital: Funafuti
8°31′S 179°13′E
Official language(s): Tuvaluan & English
Demonym: Tuvaluan
Independence
- from the United Kingdom 1 October 1978
Area
- Total 26 km2 (226th)
10 sq mi
- Water (%) negligible
Population
- July 2011 estimate 10,544 (224th)
- Density 475.88/km2 (22nd)
1,142/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 (est.) estimate
- Total $36 million (223rd)
- Per capita $3,400 (2010 est.) (164)
HDI (2003) n/a (unranked) (n/a)
Currency Tuvaluan: dollar
Australian dollar (AUD)
Time zone (UTC+12)
Drives on the left
ISO 3166 code TV
Internet TLD .tv
Calling code: 688
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. In 1568 Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña sailed through the islands and is understood to have sighted Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti, was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876). The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when the Ellice Islands were declared a British protectorate by Captain Gibson, R. N. of HMS Curaçao between 9th and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974.
In 1974, the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status. As a consequence Tuvalu separated from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on October 1, 1978. On September 5, 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.
