Tuvalu

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Country Name

Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands

Location

It is a small country in Polynesia, located in the Pacific Ocean, situated in Oceania, and about midway between Hawaii and Australia. The island country lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands -which belongs to the Solomon Islands, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.

Capital

Funafuti.

Reason for Naming the country

The country was renamed Tuvalu, an old name meaning 'eight standing together' (Tuvalu has nine islands or island groups, but one has very little land above sea level).

Flag

The first use of the current flag design was in 1978, as Tuvalu gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1978. The Flag of Tuvalu was adopted in 1997, and it was also the last change to the current Tuvalu flag. The Tuvalu flag is a blue background with Nine stars and the flag of the United Kingdom in the left corner. The used colors in the flag are blue, red, yellow, and white. The British Union Jack represents the country's ties to Britain, the nine stars represent the nine islands of Tuvalu and reproduce their geographical appearance on a map, with the top of the flag being East and the left side is north.