66 Facts About Tuvalu

On 1 October 1978, Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth, and is a Constitutional Monarchy with King Charles III as King of Tuvalu.

Origins of the people of Tuvalu are addressed in the theories regarding the migration into the Pacific that began about 3000 years ago.

An important creation myth in the islands of Tuvalu is the story of te Pusi mo te Ali, who are said to have created the islands of Tuvalu.

Tuvalu bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae in November 1821, and visited Niulakita.

Tuvalu established a shore camp on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau, where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber.

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Murray, the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 170 people were taken from Funafuti and about 250 were taken from Nukulaelae, as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.

Tuvalu was trained at Malua Theological College, a London Missionary Society school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu.

Tuvalu married Salai, the daughter of the paramount chief of Funafuti.

From 1900, the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined; the last of them were Fred Whibley on Niutao, Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau, and Martin Kleis on Nui.

Atolls of Tuvalu acted as staging posts during the preparation for the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin that commenced on 20 November 1943, which were part of the implementation of "Operation Galvanic".

Elections to the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu were held on 27 August 1977, with Toaripi Lauti being appointed Chief Minister in the House of Assembly of the Colony of Tuvalu on 1 October 1977.

Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978.

Tuvalu is a volcanic archipelago, and consists of three reef islands and six true atolls (Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Vaitupu).

The surveys identified 66 species that had not previously been recorded in Tuvalu, which brings the total number of identified species to 607.

Tuvalu is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Tuvalu contains the Western Polynesian tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.

In 2014, the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation project was approved so that 10 borrow pits would be filled with sand from the lagoon, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond.

Enele Sopoaga, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, responded to the research by stating that Tuvalu is not expanding and has gained no additional habitable land.

Whether there are measurable changes in the sea level relative to the islands of Tuvalu is a contentious issue.

The degree of uncertainty as to estimates of sea level change relative to the islands of Tuvalu was reflected in the conclusions made in 2002 from the available data.

Tuvalu experienced an average of three cyclones per decade between the 1940s and 1970s; however, eight occurred in the 1980s.

Tuvalu Government carried out assessments of the damage caused by Cyclone Pam to the islands and has provided medical aid, food as well as assistance for the cleaning-up of storm debris.

Tuvalu is affected by perigean spring tide events which raise the sea level higher than a normal high tide.

Tuvalu is working with the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission to implement composting toilets and to improve the treatment of sewage sludge from septic tanks on Fongafale, for septic tanks are leaking into the freshwater lens in the sub-surface of the atoll as well as the ocean and lagoon.

Tuvalu is a parliamentary democracy and Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Tuvalu.

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From 1974 until independence, the legislative body of Tuvalu was called the House of the Assembly or Fale I Fono.

Tuvalu is a state party to the following human rights treaties: the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Tuvalu has commitments to ensuring human rights are respected under the Universal Periodic Review and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Tuvalu participates in the work of the Pacific Community and is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.

Tuvalu maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Tuvalu participates in the Alliance of Small Island States, which is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that have concerns about their vulnerability to the adverse effects of global climate change.

Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

Tuvalu is a member of the Nauru Agreement which addresses the management of tuna purse seine fishing in the tropical western Pacific.

In July 2013, Tuvalu signed the Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Pacific Regional Trade and Development Facility, which Facility originated in 2006, in the context of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Pacific ACP States and the European Union.

On 18 February 2016, Tuvalu signed the Pacific Islands Development Forum Charter and formally joined the Pacific Islands Development Forum.

In June 2017, Tuvalu signed the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations.

Tuvalu has no regular military forces, and spends no money on the military.

From 1994 to 2019 the Tuvalu policed its 200-kilometre exclusive economic zone with the Pacific-class patrol boat HMTSS Te Mataili, provided by Australia.

The population of Tuvalu is primarily of Polynesian ethnicity, with approximately 5.

Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, which is part of the Calvinist tradition, is the state church of Tuvalu; although in practice this merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events".

Education in Tuvalu is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15 years.

The teacher-pupil ratio for primary schools in Tuvalu is around 1:18 for all schools with the exception of Nauti School, which has a ratio of 1:27.

Traditional buildings of Tuvalu used plants and trees from the native broadleaf forest, including timber from pouka; ngia or ingia bush (Pemphis acidula); miro (Thespesia populnea); tonga (Rhizophora mucronata); fau or fo fafini, or woman's fibre tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus).

The artistic traditions of Tuvalu have traditionally been expressed in the design of clothing and traditional handicrafts such as the decoration of mats and fans.

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The material culture of Tuvalu uses traditional design elements in artefacts used in everyday life such as the design of canoes and fish hooks made from traditional materials.

Cuisine of Tuvalu is based on the staple of coconut and the many species of fish found in the ocean and lagoons of the atolls.

Tuvalu has sports organisations for athletics, badminton, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, football, basketball, rugby union, weightlifting and powerlifting.

The Tuvalu National Football Association is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation and is seeking membership in FIFA.

Tuvalu first participated in the Pacific Games in 1978 and in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, when a weightlifter attended the games held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Two table tennis players attended the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England; Tuvalu entered competitors in shooting, table tennis and weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia; three athletes participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, entering the discus, shot put and weightlifting events; and a team of 3 weightlifters and 2 table tennis players attended the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Tuvalu entered the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China, with a weightlifter and two athletes in the men's and women's 100 metres sprint.

From 1996 to 2002, Tuvalu was one of the best-performing Pacific Island economies and achieved an average real gross domestic product growth rate of 5.

Tuvalu was exposed to rapid rises in world prices of fuel and food in 2008, with the level of inflation peaking at 13.

Tuvalu has the smallest GDP of any sovereign nation in the world.

Tuvalu joined the International Monetary Fund on 24 June 2010.

The IMF 2014 Country Report noted that real GDP growth in Tuvalu had been volatile averaging only 1 per cent in the past decade.

Agriculture in Tuvalu is focused on coconut trees and growing pulaka in large pits of composted soil below the water table.

Tuvalu began deriving revenue from the commercialisation of its ".

Financial support to Tuvalu is provided by Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

Tuvalu participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries, which was established in October 1997 under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation.

In 2013, Tuvalu deferred its graduation from least developed country status to a developing country to 2015.

Tuvalu had met targets so that Tuvalu was to graduate from LDC status.

Main island of Funafuti is the focus of travellers, since the only airport in Tuvalu is the Funafuti International Airport and Funafuti is the only island that has hotel facilities.

Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, provides fixed line telephone communications to subscribers on each island, mobile phone services on Funafuti, Vaitupu and Nukulaelae and is a distributor of the Fiji Television service (Sky Pacific satellite television service).

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In 2020, the government of Tuvalu purchased a landing barge, which is intended to transport of dangerous goods and building material from the capital to the outer islands.