1st October: Tuvalu Day

On Tuvalu Day, here are ten things you may not know about the island nation of Tuvalu.

1. Tuvalu was formerly known as the Ellice Islands after Edward Ellice, a British MP who visited in 1819.
2. The first European to sight islands of Tuvalu (Nui and Niulakita) was the Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendana de Neyra in 1568 and 1595.
3. Until 1974, Tuvalu was united with the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) but in that year, they voted to separate.
4. It consists of six atolls and three islands. These are Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu, Nanumanga, Niulakita, and Niutao. Niulakita has a population of less than 40 people.
5. The total land area is about 26 sq km/10 sq. mi, making it the fourth smallest country in the world. The population is about 11,000.
6. The name Tuvalu comes from the Tulavuan phrase meaning “eight standing together”, representing the eight islands which were inhabited at the time.
7. The capital is the entire atoll of Funafuti.
8. The highest point is around 4.5 metres above sea level. This makes Tuvalu very vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels. The situation is being monitored by Australia, and if the worst comes to the worst, New Zealand has agreed to resettle the people of Tuvalu.
9. The Flag is pale Blue with a Union flag in the upper left corner, and nine stars, which represent the islands. the arrangement is geographically correct, with the east towards the top (i.e. north to the left).
10. Tuvalu is known for the Caves of Nanumanga, an underwater cave system believed to have been inhabited when the sea levels were much lower, around 5,000 BC.

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