Tuvalu 🇹🇻

Tuvalu is a country in Oceania with a population of 11,312. Its capital is Funafuti. The official currency is AUD, and the main languages are Tuvaluan, English.

Quick facts

Capital: Funafuti
Continent: Oceania
Population: 11,312
Area: 26 km²
Density: 435 people per km²
Currency: AUD
Languages: Tuvaluan, English
ISO code: TV

Where Tuvalu sits

Tuvalu 🇹🇻 is one of 14 countries in Oceania, with its capital at Funafuti. It covers 26 square kilometres — 194th in the world — and is home to about 11,312 people, 196th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji and Solomon Islands. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Tuvalu compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Tuvalu sits closest to Nauru and Palau. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Nauru and Monaco.

At 435 people per square kilometre it is about 7.3 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

Tuvaluan is listed as official in Tuvalu alone. The AUD is shared with 3 other countries, including Australia, Kiribati and Nauru.

To see Tuvalu next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Tuvalu

Tuvalu means 'eight standing together', for the eight islands that were first inhabited. The capital, Funafuti, is an atoll, a ring of coral islets around a lagoon. Count the stars: nine for the nine islands.

The flag of Tuvalu: light blue, with the Union Jack and nine yellow stars

🇹🇻 The flag is a light blue flag with the Union Jack in the top-left corner and nine yellow stars on the right. The nine stars stand for the nine islands of Tuvalu, placed as they appear on a map.

Region and neighbours

Tuvalu is a tiny island country in the Pacific Ocean, in Polynesia, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. As an island country it has no land neighbours.

Three facts about Tuvalu

Tuvalu is the fourth-smallest country in the world by area, after Vatican City, Monaco and Nauru.
Its highest point is only about 4.6 m above sea level.
Tuvalu earns money from its internet address ending, '.tv', which TV companies like to use.

Sources: Wikipedia: Tuvalu, Wikipedia: Flag of Tuvalu, Wikipedia: Funafuti, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Tuvalu

Oceania capitals quiz — match Tuvalu to Funafuti
Oceania flags quiz — spot the Tuvalu flag among its neighbours
Island nations quiz — Tuvalu is an island country

Quizzes that include Tuvalu

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Tuvalu those are:

Oceania map quiz — place it on a blank map
Oceania flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
Oceania capitals quiz — match it to Funafuti
Tuvalu capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Tuvalu
Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Nearby countries

Australia 🇦🇺 — capital Canberra
Fiji 🇫🇯 — capital Suva
Kiribati 🇰🇮 — capital Tarawa
Marshall Islands 🇲🇭 — capital Majuro
Micronesia 🇫🇲 — capital Palikir
Nauru 🇳🇷 — capital Yaren
New Zealand 🇳🇿 — capital Wellington
Palau 🇵🇼 — capital Ngerulmud
Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 — capital Port Moresby
Samoa 🇼🇸 — capital Apia
Solomon Islands 🇸🇧 — capital Honiara
Tonga 🇹🇴 — capital Nukuʻalofa

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Tuvalu flag?

The flag of Tuvalu is a light blue flag with the Union Jack in the top-left corner and nine yellow stars on the right. The nine stars stand for the nine islands of Tuvalu, placed as they appear on a map.

Which countries border Tuvalu?

None. Tuvalu is a tiny island country in the Pacific Ocean, in Polynesia, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, so it has no land borders with other countries.