Tuvalu
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : none
Country name - conventional short form : Tuvalu
Country name - local long form : none
Country name - local short form : Tuvalu
Country name - former : Ellice Islands
Government type : constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy
Capital - name : Funafuti
Capital - time difference : UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Population : 12,177 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Tuvaluan(s)
Nationality - adjective : Tuvaluan
Languages : Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Currency (code) : Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Currency code : AUD
Tuvalu is located Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia. The climate is tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March). The terrain is very low-lying and narrow coral atolls.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : 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 a 12-year period.
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