The Tuvalu are a State Polynésie N, in the center of the Pacific Ocean, in the south of the equator and close to the Kiribati, independent since 1978.

It is a Archipel consisted of nine coral Atoll S of which eights are inhabited. Vaiaku, the principal village, on the atoll of Funafuti is on the small island of Fongafale which makes 12 kilometers length. The broadest place of the island, sheltering the track of airport, borders the 400 meters. It is there that half of the population of the kingdom lives on 2,6 km 2 .

After the the Vatican it is the independent State less populated in the world.

History

See also: History of Tuvalu

Installation of the populations austronésiennes of continental Asia in the Pacific

See also: Settlement of Oceania

There is 5  000 years (3  000 front J. - C), of the Austronésien S living littoral current China South, farmers of millet and rice, started to cross the strait to settle with Taiwan. Towards 2  000 before J. - C., of the migrations take place of Taiwan towards the southernmost Japan and the Filipino. New migrations followed from Philippines towards Célèbes and Timor and from there, towards the other islands of the archipelago Indonesia N. Towards 1  500 av. J. - C., another movement carries out Filipino towards the islands of the Pacifique. The Austronésiens are among the most former pelagic navigators of the history of humanity.

Tuvalu are inhabited since the beginning from II. They seem to be populated by Polynesian populations (connects oceanic populations austronésiennes) coming from Samoa, which was a center of diffusion of this culture. The islands were visited for the first time by an European in 1568, with the arrival of the Spanish Alvaro de Mendaña there Neyra. The narrow ones and frequent contacts maintained with the neighbors Gilbertin S, of language micronésienne, explain the current population of Nui.

Although no colonization was established before 1892, the merchants of Esclave S and the Baleinier S came sometimes in these islands before British protectorate, for as a razzier the population or to plunder the resources of them.

In 1892, the islands became part of British protectorate on the islands Gilbert and Ellice, Tuvalu being called then the Ellice islands. Protectorate became a colony in 1916, gathered with those of the Gilbert.

In 1974, the ethnic differences and in development in the colony pushed the Polynésien S of the Ellice islands to be voted for separation with the Micronésien S of the islands Gilbert (called from now on the Kiribati).

The following year, on October 1st, the Ellice islands became the British colony of Tuvalu.

Independence was granted in 1978 in the form of a Dominion, the Head of the State remaining the British queen. Formally, Tuvalu are thus a kingdom, with for Head of State, Elisabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Policy

See also: Political of Tuvalu

Mode: parliamentary democracy. Kingdom: the queen Elisabeth II is the Head of the State, represented on the spot by a governor tuvaluan, Faimalaga Luka. The July 4th 2005, the Prime Minister, Maatia Toafa, announced the end of a long process of consultation in order to collect the points of view on the Head of the State: these consultations should lead by the end of 2005 with a referendum for or against the fact that Elisabeth II remains the Head of the State.

Geography

See also: Geography of Tuvalu

The drinking water is rare: the Fresh water coming from the lens (a kind of sheet of water) of the Atoll S is often unsuitable with consumption because of pollution (breeding of pigs), and the Drinking water must be imported.

On this not very fertile ground, the compost is ideal natural manure but the collection of the sheets of Cocotier or Pandanus, used in particular for dishes for the meals of festival remains to be organized. Many kitchen gardens are installed in front of the houses.

The culture of traditional vegetables, pulaka and giant Taro of the marshes ( Cyrtosperma ), became more complicated. Their roots which hide deeply in the ground badly support the salt water infiltrations in the grounds following the rise in the level of water (see the chapter on the controversy on the Climate warming).

Islands

See also: Islands of Tuvalu

Although Tuvalu do not have an administrative subdivision, the country can be divided into 9 islands or rather Atoll S (certain atolls are subdivided in their turn in “islands” or “small islands”).

In the beginning only eight of these islands were inhabited from where the name Tuvalu , which means eight (islands) together in Tuvaluan.
New the islands are: Funafuti, Nanumea, Nanumaga, Niutao, Harmed, Niulakita, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu.

Discusses on the Climate warming

In 2001, the government of Tuvalu announced that the islands, whose highest point is of 5  m above it sea level, should be evacuated in the event of increase in the level of the ocean, justifying this rise of water by the general Climate warming of planet. But it may be that the depression of the atolls is also at the origin of progressive invasion by water of the ocean.

The New Zealand agreed to probably receive an annual quota of seventy-five evacuated , whereas the Australia refused the requests, in coherence with its rejection of the Protocole of Kyoto.

As a low island without plate océanique, the insular communities of Tuvalu are particularly sensitive to the changes of the Sea level and the storms which strike the island. During the last decade, the islands saw disappearing three meters from sea front; the frequency and the violence of the storms increased. On several occasions Tuvaluans had to temporarily evacuate their islands at the time of the Marée S of strong water.

Tuvaluans worry about the immersion of the islands and a growing number of them left the island. In 2002, the Prime Minister of then, Koloa Talake, announced its intention to bring the United States and Australia in front of the the International Court of Justice of $the Hague because of their disproportionate emissions of Carbon dioxide. This was never carried out, because Talake was not re-elected later in the year, but the controversy as for this judgment had a great media repercussion.

Although to show the climate change of the problems of the island to the archipelago an important publicity gave, other factors must be taken into account, of which the demographic explosion on an island with the limited resources, source of environmental damage. Since 1980, the population of Funafuti has more than doubled, passing from 2.000 to 4.500, that is to say about half of the population of Tuvalu. Another major cause of engloutissement of the island and the salinisation of its sources of fresh water is the construction of an airport, which put a notable share of the island at a few centimetres of the sea level, and because of the notable damage at the coral base of the island.

At all events, according to the experts, the Tuvalu islands will disappear under the floods from here 2050. The beaches and vegetations are done rare, the tar does not protect more the ground of the watery increase which flood the cultures per annum 5 months. The climatic exodus of the refugees started and it is the first time besides that an entire State must be delocalized for this reason. A thousand of inhabitants already fled in Zealand News, in the Fiji or in French Polynesia, Australia refused them for the same reasons that she refused to ratify the protocol of Kyoto.

Economy

See also: Saving in Tuvalu

Tuvalu does not have almost any Natural resource and its independent source of incomes comes from foreign aid.
The principal activities are the fishing and the Tourisme; but, because of the distance of the islands, a restricted number tourists visit the archipelago each year.

The Dollar of Tuvalu, the local currency, is coupled with the Australian dollar: only coins are emitted locally.

In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a hire purchase contract of sound domain name Internet .tv for $50 million royalties during the dozen years to come.

Demography

See also: Demography of Tuvalu

The population of Tuvalu is almost entirely made up of Polynésie NS, but the inhabitants of Harmed are in fact of the Gilbertins which thus speak the Gilbertin or Kiribati (crossbred of tuvaluan).

Approximately 97% of Tuvaluans are member of the church of Tuvalu, a Christian church Protestant. The religion was mixed with some ancestral elements beliefs autochtones.

The vernacular language, the Tuvaluan, is spoken by practically everyone; the Gilbertin or Kiribati is spoken by the majority about the inhabitants about Harmed. English is also official language, but is usually not spoken.

Culture

See also: Culture of Tuvalu

The spoken languages are the English and the tuvalu . The Gilbertin is spoken with Nui.

The traditional Community system is still maintained on Tuvalu. Each family has her own task, or salanga , to carry out for the community, such as fishing, the construction of houses or defense.
The qualifications of a family are transmitted of wire father.

Codes

• NG, according to the List of the prefixes of codes ICAO of the airports,
• T2, according to the List of prefixes ICAO of registration of the aircraft,
• TUV, according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (code list country), code alpha-3,
• according to the Code list country of the CIO, Tuvalu does not have a code allotted
• TUV, according to the international Code list of the number plates,
• TUV, according to the Code list countries used by NATO, code alpha-2,
• TV, according to the standard ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 (code list country),
• TV, according to the Code list countries used by NATO, code alpha-2,
• .tv, according to the Liste of Internet TLD (Top level domain) (its rights in 1999 for the sites having milked sold with the Télévision),