Portal:Tuvalu

Nukulaelae is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu, and it has a population of 300 (2017 census). The largest settlement is Pepesala on Fangaua islet with a population of 341 people (2022 Census). It has the form of an oval and consists of at least 15 islets. The inhabited islet is Fangaua, which is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long and 50 to 200 metres (160 to 660 ft) wide. The easternmost point of Tuvalu is Niuoko islet. The Nukulaelae Conservation Area covers the eastern end of the lagoon. A baseline survey of marine life in the conservation zone was conducted in 2010. (Full article...)

The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC; IOC Code: TUV) is the Tuvaluan organization recognised as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2006, Tuvalu satisfied the IOC's criterion of a minimum five national sports federations recognised by their international sports federations, which included basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, boxing and table tennis.

TASNOC is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code published by the World Anti-Doping Agency. (Full article...)

Sport is an important part of Tuvaluan culture, whose sporting culture is based on traditional games and athletic activities and the adoption of some of the major international sports of the modern era.

Popular sports in Tuvalu include association football, futsal, volleyball, handball, Badminton, Table tennis, Lawn Tennis, basketball and rugby union. Tuvalu has sports organisations to support local competitions and the participation of Tuvalu in international competitions, including the Tuvalu Tennis Association, Tuvalu Table Tennis Association, Tuvalu National Badminton Association, Tuvalu National Football Association, Tuvalu Basketball Federation, Tuvalu Rugby Union, Tuvalu Weightlifting Federation and Tuvalu Powerlifting Federation. (Full article...)

Association Football is the most popular sport in Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific. The Tuvalu National Football Association (TNFA) governs the sport and became an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on 15 November 2006, reinstated on 16 March 2020. Tuvalu has been seeking full membership in both the OFC and FIFA since 1987 but has not succeeded due to infrastructure and population limitations. The national team participates in regional competitions like the Pacific Games. Domestic football includes local leagues and tournaments on Funafuti and other islands, fostering community engagement despite limited resources.


The earliest records of football in Tuvalu date back to the 1979 South Pacific Games where Tuvalu competed. They defeated Tonga, but lost their other two matches. This qualified them for a play-off against Kiribati, which they would win on penalties before losing to Guam national football team. A league was active by 1980, with Nauti FC being founded in that year, and it would continue until 1991 when renovations prevented access to the airstrip for training or the Tuvalu Sports Ground for matches. It would reform in 1998 and has so far lasted to the current day. The women's league would form in 2009, though this would prove to be more sporadic and there is less evidence for it. In the modern era the men's league typically includes clubs from all the main islands, with A and B divisions, along with 2nd teams from the larger clubs. The women's league, in contrast, is much smaller, with only a handful of clubs participating. Typically the leagues are formatted as a group stage, either a single group of up to 8 teams or 2 separate groups of up to 4 teams. Then teams qualify for a semi-final and a final to determine the champions for that year. (Full article...)

Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,077 people (2022 Census) living on 5.6 square kilometres (2.2 square miles) with the main village being Asau. (Full article...)

Nui is an atoll and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It has a land area of 3.37 km² and a population of 514 (2022 Census).

Traditionally Nuian culture is organised in three family circles – Tekaubaonga, Tekaunimala and Tekaunibiti families. Most people live on the western end of Fenua Tapu. In the 2012 census, 321 people live in Alamoni – Maiaki and 221 people live in Manutalake – Meang (Tanrake). The junior school is Vaipuna Primary School. (Full article...)

The coral reefs of Tuvalu consist of three reef islands and six atolls, containing approximately 710 km² (270 mi²) of reef platforms. The islands of the Tuvalu archipelago are spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. The islands of Tuvalu are volcanic in origin. On the atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon, and may include natural reef channels. The reef islands have a different structure to the atolls, and are described as reef platforms as they are smaller tabular reef platforms that do not have a salt-water lagoon, although they may have a completely closed rim of dry land, with the remnants of a lagoon that has no direct connection to the open sea or that may be drying up. (Full article...)

The Funafuti Conservation Area is a marine conservation area covering 33 square kilometers (12.74 square miles) of reef, lagoon and motu (islets) on the western side of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. The marine environment of the conservation area includes reef, lagoon, channel and ocean; and are home to many species of fish, corals, algae and invertebrates. The islets are nesting sites for the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Fualopa hosts a breeding colony of black noddy (Anous minutes).

The decision to create a protected area (Kogatapu) was made in 1999; the purpose of the Funafuti Conservation Area is the conservation of the marine and land based biodiversity (plants, animals and ecosystems) within the protected area. The boundaries of the Funafuti Conservation Area encompass about 20 percent of the total coral reef area of Funafuti lagoon (Te Namo), and is an important part of the protection of the coral reefs of Tuvalu. (Full article...)

The Constitution of Tuvalu states that it is “the supreme law of Tuvalu” and that “all other laws shall be interpreted and applied subject to this Constitution”; it sets out the Principles of the Bill of Rights and the Protection of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

Tuvalu's independence was granted to it by the United Kingdom by virtue of the Tuvalu Independence Order 1978 (UK). Tuvalu became an independent constitutional monarchy on 1 October 1978. Charles III - as the King of Tuvalu - is the Head of State, represented by the Governor-General, who is appointed by the King on advice of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu. A written constitution was adopted at independence. In 1986 Tuvalu approved a new constitution that had been developed by the community leaders and the members of the Tuvaluan parliament. In May 2018 a translation of the current Constitution into the Tuvaluan language was completed as part of the Tuvalu Constitutional Review Project. (Full article...)

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Tuvalu. There are three mammal species in Tuvalu identified in the IUCN Red List, all of which are marine mammals of the order Cetacea: ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens), pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata), and pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata).

The literature review by Miller (2006) found four additional cetaceans reported: orca or killer whale (Orcinus orca), spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is found in the lists of both Miller and the IUCN. (Full article...)

This timeline of the history of Tuvalu chronologically lists important events occurring within the present political boundaries of the Pacific island state of Tuvalu. This time line is introduced by the theories as to the origins of the Polynesian people and the migration across the Pacific Ocean to create Polynesia, which includes the islands of Tuvalu. (Full article...)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Tuvalu face legal difficulties not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sections 153, 154 and 155 of the Penal Code outlaw male homosexual intercourse with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison, but the law is not enforced. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2017. Since 2023, the Constitution of Tuvalu has banned same-sex marriage.

Tuvalu is home to a traditional transgender population, called the pinapinaaine, or pina, who historically played certain societal and communal roles. (Full article...)

Tuvaluan (/ˌtuːvəˈluːən/), often called Tuvalu, is a Polynesian language closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Micronesia and Northern and Central Melanesia. Tuvaluan has borrowed considerably from Samoan, the language of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The population of Tuvalu is approximately 10,645 people (2017 Mini Census), but there are estimated to be more than 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide. In 2015, it was estimated that more than 3,500 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand, with about half that number born in New Zealand and 65 percent of the Tuvaluan community in New Zealand is able to speak Tuvaluan. (Full article...)

Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation (TTC) is a state-owned enterprise of Tuvalu, which provides fixed-line telephone communications to subscribers on each of the islands of Tuvalu. Each island in Tuvalu relies on TTC for the use of a satellite dish for inter-island telephone communication and internet access. TTC also provides mobile phone services on Funafuti and Vaitupu. TTC is the sole provider of Telecommunications in Tuvalu. TTC is established by the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation Act 1993. (Full article...)

Saufatu Sopoanga (22 February 1952 – 15 December 2020) was a Tuvaluan politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Tuvalu from 2 August 2002 to 27 August 2004. He drew international attention for his speeches warning about the effects of the rising sea level on Tuvalu and other low-lying island countries.

He later served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2004 to 2006. His younger brother Enele Sopoaga served as Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019. (Full article...)