Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries in the world, in fact, the fourth smallest.
As of 2005, the population is estimated to be 11,636.
Another major factor contributing to gradual sinking of the island and salinization of its fresh water source is the consequences of runway construction (contructed by the Americans during WWII), which has brought a sizable part of island's area within inches of sea level and caused significant damage to the island's coralline base.
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.
Tuvalu became a colony in 1916 and was legally separated from Kiribati in 1975, becoming an independent constitutional monarchy on 1 October, 1978.
Its nearest neighbors are Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) to the north, Rotuma and Wallis Island to the south, the Solomon Islands to the west, and Tokelau to the east.
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