Polynesia
Atoll · Tiny · Sinking
Tuvalu is a country located in Polynesia. Its capital city is Funafuti, with other major cities including Funafuti. With a population of approximately 11,000, the main languages spoken are Tuvaluan, English. The country covers an area of 26 km². The official currency is the Australian dollar ($), Tuvaluan dollar ($). Traffic drives on the left side.
Tuvalu earns significant income by leasing its internet domain suffix '.tv' to broadcasting and media companies worldwide — the domain name became valuable in the television era and the tiny nation signed a $50 million deal with Verisign in 2000.
Funafuti serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Tuvalu, positioned in Polynesia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Funafuti — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Funafuti atoll is Tuvalu's capital and most populous island — a boomerang-shaped atoll where 6,000 of the country's 11,000 residents live on an average 20 metres of land between the lagoon and the open Pacific, with the highest point at 5 metres above sea level in a country that will likely be uninhabitable within 50 years as sea level rise overwhelms the storm surge protection that these thin atolls currently provide.
With a population of approximately 11,000, Tuvalu is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Tuvaluan, English, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Tuvalu is reached via the dialling code +688. Tuvaluans face the world's most immediate climate change displacement — the government has negotiated migration agreements with Australia and New Zealand that will eventually allow all Tuvaluans to relocate, while simultaneously pursuing climate litigation against the world's largest emitters in international courts, becoming the most compelling human face of the debate about responsibility for climate change impacts.
Tuvalu spans 26 km², in the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. Geographically centred around 8.0°S, 178.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the left-hand rule, in line with surrounding Oceania convention.
The official currency is the Australian dollar ($), Tuvaluan dollar ($), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Tuvalu's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+12:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football / Volleyball holds a special place in the heart of Tuvalu's national identity. Football and volleyball are Tuvalu's primary sports, with the national football team competing in OFC qualification as one of the world's smallest football nations — the team's training sessions on the road that doubles as the island's main street are regularly interrupted by traffic, creating a playing condition unique in international football, while traditional canoe racing maintains the maritime athletic culture of a people who navigated the Pacific for millennia.
The highest point in Tuvalu is Unnamed high point, rising to 5 metres above sea level. Funafuti Conservation Area protects 33 square kilometres of reef, lagoon, and ocean in the Pacific's most threatened national environment — coral bleaching events that raised sea temperatures in recent El Niño years damaged significant portions of the reef that the atoll depends on both as physical protection from wave action and as the foundation of the marine food web that Tuvaluan fishing economies rely on.