Capital City: Funafuti
Tuvalu is an island group in the South Pacific that form the fourth smallest country in the world. In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.

» Climate

Tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March. Natural phenomena do not occur frequently here, but low level of islands makes them sensitive to changes in sea level. Three cyclones were recorded in 1997.

» Terrain

Low-lying and narrow coral atolls