Travel Alert Status
Level 3: Reconsider Travel
Time Difference
UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Travel Climate
tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Travel Currency
Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Languages
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Ethnic Groups
Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
National Holiday
Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Geographic Coordinates
8 00 S, 178 00 E
Location
Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia