Tuvalu

 Last Edited On: 20/2/22

Tuvalu

     When people hear Tuvalu, they typically think about Polynesia, which is actually true. Welcome to the country where its stereotypes are somewhat true.

Flag

     The upper left corner contains the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since the country is a Commonwealth nation. Out of all the Commonwealth Realms, the Queen of the United Kingdom is in control of fifteen countries including Tuvalu.

     The baby blue represents the ocean, and it depicts a scale of what the country looks like. Each star represents and atoll, or a group of smaller islands. In total, Tuvalu is made up of nine atolls. 

History

     Long ago, the island was inhabited by Samoans and other Polynesian tribes. Because of this migration, Tuvalu is extremely similar to its Polynesian neighbors. In the 1700s and 1800s, the island was found by Russian, Dutch, British, and American ships and was named the Ellice Islands in 1819.

     In 1861, Christian missionaries came to the island to convert the people. People claiming to be missionaries took people from the Ellice Island and made them work in plantations that were located in Hawaii and Peru.

     In 1892, the Ellice Islands joined with the Gilbert islands to become British protectorates. It was officially colonized in 1916.

     Several important events in the country's history have to do with World War II. The Ellice Island were home to US military bases. In 1943, Japan captured the majority of the Gibert Islands. The British territory of the Gibert islands was now Funafuti and everything south of it. 

     After World War II, the UK regained control of their lost land and Tarawa, in the Gibert islands, became the capital of the colony once again. In 1974, Tuvaluans wanted to secede from the colony and received independence in the first of October 1978.

     People consider the date to be the fifth of September 2000 when Tuvalu was an official country. This was the date when Tuvalu joined the United Nations. This happened when every country was given an internet domain. The one for Tuvalu was .tv and all payments were accepted through .tv. This helped the country join the UN and expand.

Country Requirements

-Defined Territory

     Tuvalu is 26 km squared which is about the size of 13 copies of Monaco, 54 copies of Vatican City, and 8 copies of Central Park in the US. This makes it the 4th smallest country.

     Tuvalu is made up of nine atolls, or coral islands. Each atoll is about 121 miles away from each other. The capital is Funafuti located in the Funafuti atoll. All of these atolls are located in Oceania, or the Pacific Ocean, specifically the Polynesian area. It is generally between Australia and Hawaii.

-Permanent Population

     People in Tuvalu: 12,066

     (This demographic is up to date)

     Most of the population live is Funafuti

-Ethnicity

Tuvaluan: 86.8%

Tuvaluan/I-Kiribati: 5.6%

Tuvaluan/other: 6.7%

other: 0.9%

-Government

     The government in Tuvalu is run by a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary republic and Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

-Relations w/Other Countries

     Tuvalu is the 189th member to join the UN. They have a strong economic tie with Australia as the nation uses the Australian dollar. Tuvalu was once part of Kiribati when it was known as the Gilbert islands.

     All flights to Tuvalu are operated by Fiji. The UK once colonized the country, and the Queen is head of state.

Education

     Education in Tuvalu is obligated for kids from five to sixteen. Every island has a primary school and the island of Vaitupu contains a secondary school. The government's goal is to address the special needs of every student and to make sure they target what is needed for them.

Sports/Football

     One popular sport in Tuvalu is kilikiti which is similar to cricket and Te Ano which is similar to volleyball. They also play football. They were the first non-FIFA member to participate in the World Cup in 2007. The country even has the Tuvalu National Football Association.

General Information

-Capital: Funafuti 

-Currency: $ (Tuvaluan Dollar) (They do not take card and they have no ATMS.) 

-They drive on the left side of the road. 

-The URL domain is .tv. 

-Anthem: Tuvalu mo te Atua 

-Official Language(s): Tuvaluan, English 

-Nationality: Tuvaluan

BEFORE YOU GO! 

     Tuvalu is very small. The country barely has any space, yet the people thrive. As the ocean is rising, the country of Tuvalu is shrinking. It's a problem for us, but the people of Tuvalu are standing strong. Many people think that life is about meeting the expectations of everyone, but in Tuvalu, the only expectations they have are to put a smile on their faces and smiles on the faces of the future generations to come. They don't care a lot about politics, which is something we can learn from them.

Sources

Government in Tuvalu (commonwealthofnations.org)

Speaking About the Current State of Education in Tuvalu (borgenmagazine.com)

Sport in Tuvalu (topendsports.com)

The Largest and the Smallest Countries in the World by Area - Nations Online Project

Tuvalu Fun Facts — 8 Interesting Facts About Tuvalu (everything-everywhere.com)

Tuvalu Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs) (worldpopulationreview.com)

Tuvalu- The World Factbook