Tuvalu is a unique maritime power, with only 26 of its 500 square kilometers of land lying on land.

Until 1974, the country was the British colony of Yeghis. After a referendum in 1978, it became a democracy, but officially the British monarchs still rule Tuvalu.

The current name of the state means ‘eight together’ in the local dialect and symbolizes the eight atoll islands.

Actually, there are 9 of them in the state, but the last one was settled later. The capital of Tuvalu is the only city in the country located on the island of Funafuti.

Here is the longest road and together the only airport runway. The city has about 6 thousand inhabitants, which is about half of the country’s population.

There are no freshwater bodies in the Tuvalu islands, and the inhabitants have adapted to collecting rainwater.

Due to the characteristics of the soil, atolls are of little use for agriculture and animal husbandry. However, the residents have a rich diet with delicious seafood dishes.

The highest point rises only 5 meters above sea level, this is the main problem of the country. Global warming will cause the Tuvalu Islands to flood in the future,

and now the government is developing a plan to evacuate the population to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Tuvalu’s budget is filled mainly by benefactors from neighboring, more developed countries. One tenth of the population works abroad and supports the economy through remittances.

In the late 90s, Americans and Canadians bought the national domain .tv. For 50 billion dollars. This amount is several times higher than the annual expenditure of the state.