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Tuvalu: map, flag, capital and key facts

Tuvalu is a country in Oceania, with about 9,492 people (2025) and an area of 30 square kilometres. Its capital is Funafuti, and it has no land borders.

By Team Geography Last reviewed

Flag of Tuvalu
Flag of Tuvalu
Map showing where the country sits among its neighbours
Tuvalu in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.

Key facts about Tuvalu

CapitalFunafuti
ContinentOceania
Population9,492 2025, World Bank. 194th of 195.
Area30 km² (12 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 192nd largest of 195.
Population density316 people per km²
Land neighboursNone. It has no land borders with another country.
UN statusMember state
Capital coordinates8.52° S, 179.22° E Funafuti, Natural Earth.

No land borders

Tuvalu shares no land border with another country. Its nearest neighbours are across the sea, as the map above shows.

From the Geography app

The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of Tuvalu's 5, in full.

PLACELens 1 of 5

Nine atolls that may not survive the century

Tuvalu consists of nine low-lying coral atolls spread across 900,000 square kilometers of the central Pacific, with a total land area of just 26 square kilometers. No point in the country rises more than 4.6 meters above sea level, and most of the land sits below 2 meters. Funafuti, the capital atoll, is home to roughly 6,300 of the country's 11,200 people, creating extreme density on a strip of land barely 20 meters wide in places.

More on Funafuti

The main atoll and seat of government is an islet ring around a large lagoon. During World War II, the U.S. built an airstrip on Funafuti that still serves as the national runway. The concentration of population on this single atoll intensifies vulnerability to storms and sea-level rise.

4 more lenses on Tuvalu in the app

  • STORY A Polynesian culture with nowhere else to go
  • NOW The internet domain that funds a nation
  • NOW The first country to digitize its sovereignty
  • THREAD The moral voice of the sinking Pacific

Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.

Compare Tuvalu with another country

Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.

Common questions

What is the capital of Tuvalu?
The capital of Tuvalu is Funafuti. Funafuti lies at about 8.5 degrees south and 179.2 degrees east. Tuvalu is in Oceania. It is home to about 9,492 people. The world capitals quiz on this site tests every capital, and the printable capitals sheets cover each continent.
What is the population of Tuvalu?
About 9,492 people live in Tuvalu, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 194th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 30 square kilometres, that is about 316 people per square kilometre.
What countries border Tuvalu?
None. Tuvalu has no land borders with any other country. It is surrounded by sea, so every neighbour of Tuvalu is across the water. It lies in Oceania. Its area is 30 square kilometres, and about 9,492 people live there.
How big is Tuvalu?
Tuvalu covers 30 square kilometres, or about 12 square miles. That makes it the 192nd largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 9,492 gives a density of 316 people per square kilometre.

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