Introduction |
Tuvalu became an independent country in 1978 after ethnic differences caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to separate from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands four years prior. The Ellice Islands became the British colony Tuvalu the year following the separation from the Gilbert Islands. Tuvalu, made up of Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, Nukulaelae, Nanumaga, Niutao and Niulakita, is one of the smallest and remote countries in the world. The capital is Funafuti, an atoll of 29 islets with the administrative offices residing on the Fongafale Islet.
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Tuvalu is an island group made up of nine coral atolls, ring shaped coral reefs formed by an underwater volcanoes, although only eight are inhabited. The country is located in the South Pacific, roughly halfway between Hawai’i and Australia. The country is 26 square kilometers and has 24 kilometers of coast line in total. Tuvalu’s topography is fairly consistent with the average elevation being two meters and the highest point being only five meters. A majority of the land in Tuvalu is used for agriculture, while about 30 percent is forest. Of the nine islands, six surround lagoons that open to the ocean, two have landlocked lagoons, leaving Niulakita as the only island without a lagoon.
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Geography |
(MacDonald, September 20, 2019)
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SocietyThe total population of Tuvalu is 11, 147 with a majority being Tuvaluan as well as Protestant. More than half of the population lives in Funafuti while Niulakita remains uninhabited. Tuvaluan and English are both official languages but Samoan is spoken by a some and Kiribati is spoken on Nui. Tuvalu is a Commonwealth nation with a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with their Chief of State being Queen Elizabeth II.
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Tuvalu is sinking, or so is the reason for Tuvalu's current media exposure. Tuvalu is predicted to be one of the first countries to disappear into the ocean due to rising sea levels. Scientist believe that by 2030 Tuvalu will no longer be inhabitable (Ellsmoor, 2019). Tuvaluans are also the first people to be accepted into countries such as New Zealand and Australia as environmental refugees. Tuvaluan fishermen claim that a few islets have already been covered by the ocean (Allen, 2004). In August of 2019 this small country hosted the 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and with it 600 diplomats. The gathering brought representatives from Australia to Fiji to Nauru, among several other Oceania countries (Ellsmoor, 2019).
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Young Tuvaluans seated in water to symbolize the severity of the climate crisis, as diplomats arrive for the PIF (Ellsmoor, 2019).
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