Nanumea
* Laken
* Lefogaki
* Nanumea responsible (the largest island)
* Teatua a Taepoa
* Temotufoliki
* And at least one other
On Nanumea village proper is located. The island measures about 3 km long and is the largest atoll island (which Laken and Temotufoliki).
Fongafale
Fongafale (Fogale or Fagafale) – island in the Pacific Ocean, the largest island atoll of Funafuti, belonging to the archipelago of Tuvalu.
* Geographic coordinates: 8 ° 31’S 179 ° 12’E
The island is 12 km long and from 10 to 400 meters szerkości. From the east it is surrounded by a Pacific Ocean on the west lagoon Funafuti. It resides more than 4,000 inhabitants.
On Fongafale is the administrative center of the capital and Tuvalu – Vaiaku, the only airport in the country, home of the most important state institutions, the hotel (Vaiaku lagi Hotel), a center for telecommunications, imprisonment, meteorological station, hospital, post office, bank, school.
On the island are still 3 villages: Alapi, Fakai Fou, señala
Foreign relations
Tuvalu maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. It has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan); Taiwan maintains the only resident embassy in Tuvalu and has a large assistance program in the islands.
Tuvalu became a member of United Nations in 2000 and maintains a mission at the UN in New York. A major international priority for Tuvalu in the UN, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and in other international fora is promoting concern about global warming and possible sea level rise. Tuvalu advocates ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. It also is a member of the Asian Development Bank.
Tuvalu is a party to a treaty of friendship with the United States, signed soon after independence and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1983, under which the United States renounced prior territorial claims to four Tuvaluan islands under the Guano Act.
Districts
Tuvalu’s small population is distributed across 9 islands, 5 of which are atolls. The smallest island, Niulakita, was uninhabited until it was resettled by people from Niutao in 1949.
Politics
Tuvalu is a constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II recognised as the official Queen of Tuvalu. She is represented in Tuvalu by a Governor General, who is appointed upon the advice of the Prime Minister. The local unicameral parliament, or Fale I Fono, has 15 members and is elected every four years. Its members elect a Prime Minister who is the head of government. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Some elders also exercise informal authority on a local level. There are no formal political parties and election campaigns are largely on the basis of personal/family ties and reputation.
The highest court in Tuvalu is the High Court; there are eight Island Courts with limited jurisdiction. Rulings from the High Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji.
Tuvalu has no regular military forces, and spends no money on the military. Its police force includes a Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations. The police have a Pacific-class patrol boat (Te Mataili) provided by Australia under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program for use in maritime surveillance and fishery patrol.
The government of Tuvalu is represented in the United Kingdom by an honorary consul, based at Tuvalu House, London.
When to Go
The best time to enjoy the islands of Tuvalu is between May and September, when the easterly trade winds – and with them the chances of fine weather – spring up. The risk of tropical cyclones is reduced at this time too.
Funafuti
Funafuti is the capital of the small island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 (2002 Census), making it the most populated atoll in this country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 meters wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with 275 km² by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets aggregates to 2.4 km², less than one percent of the total area of the atoll. There is an airstrip, hotel (Vaiaku Langi Hotel), and administrative buildings, as well as homes, constructed both in the traditional manner, out of palm fronds, and more recently out of cement blocks. The most prominent building on Funafuti atoll is the Church of Tuvalu. Other sites of interest are the remains of American aircraft that crashed on Funafuti during World War II, when the airstrip was used by the American forces to defend the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) and the Marshall Islands. The USA claimed Funafuti from some unknown time in the 1800s until a treaty of friendship was concluded in 1979, coming into effect in 1983.
The largest island is Fongafale. On this island, there are four villages, of which one is Vaiaku, where the government is located. The capital of Tuvalu is sometimes given as Fongafale or Vaiaku, but the entire atoll of Funafuti is officially the capital.
Tuvalu
Tuvalu formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. Comprising four reef islands and five true atolls with a gross land area of just 26 square kilometers (10 sq mi) it is the third-least populated independent country in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. It is also the second-smallest member by population of the United Nations. In terms of physical land size, Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km²; Monaco—1.95 km² and Nauru—21 km².
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. The islands came under Britain’s sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully independent within The Commonwealth in 1978.
Tuvalu Vacation 