Data at glance of Tuvalu - average on period

History

Voyagers from either Samoa or Tonga first populated Tuvalu in the first millennium A.D., and the islands provided a stepping-stone for various Polynesian communities that subsequently settled in Melanesia and Micronesia. Tuvalu eventually came under Samoan and Tongan spheres of influence, although proximity to Micronesia allowed some Micronesian communities to flourish in Tuvalu, in particular on Nui Atoll. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, a series of American, British, Dutch, and Russian ships visited the islands, which were named the Ellice Islands in 1819. The UK declared a protectorate over islands in 1892 and merged them with the Micronesian Gilbert Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate became a colony in 1916. During World War II, the US set up military bases on a few islands, and in 1943, after Japan captured many of the northern Gilbert Islands, the UK transferred administration of the colony southward to Funafuti. After the war, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands was once again made the colony’s capital, and the center of power was firmly in the Gilbert Islands, including the colony’s only secondary school. Amid growing tensions with the Gilbertese, Tuvaluans voted to secede from the colony in 1974, were granted self-rule in 1975, and gained independence in 1978 as Tuvalu. In 1979, the US relinquished its claims to the Tuvaluan islands in a treaty of friendship.

Environment

Area: 26 sq km km2

Climate: tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

Natural resources: fish, coconut (copra)

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Tuvaluan 97%, Tuvaluan/I-Kiribati 1.6%, Tuvaluan/other 0.8%, other 0.6% (2017 est.)

Languages:

Religions: Protestant 92.7% (Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu 85.9%, Brethren 2.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.5%, Assemblies of God 1.5%), Baha'i 1.5%, Jehovah's Witness 1.5%, other 3.9%, none or refused 0.4% (2017 est.)

Government

Capital: Funafuti

Government type: parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Executive branch

Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu FALANI (since 29 August 2021)

Head of government: Prime Minister Feleti Penitala TEO (since 27 February 2024)

Legislative branch

Description: Parliament (Palamene) - unicameral

Industries

fishing

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 15.9% (2015 est.), Industry: 7% (2015 est.), Services: 70% (2012 est.)

Trade

Export partners: Thailand 88%, Japan 6%, Philippines 3%, Ireland 1%, USA 1% (2023)

Export commodities: fish (2023)

Import partners: China 42%, Fiji 24%, Japan 11%, Australia 11%, NZ 4% (2023)

Import commodities: ships, refined petroleum, iron structures, fish, hand tools (2023)

Geography

Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way from Hawaii to Australia