Island Councils of Tuvalu

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Updates: 

ISO 3166-2 has come out in a second edition, dated 2007-12-15. Unexpectedly, the code for Nui council was changed from NIU to NUI.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter I-8, published on 2007-04-17, has new ISO council codes for Tuvalu. They are shown in the table below. They are the same as the codes from an early draft version, ISO/DIS 2166-2, which had not been supported.

Celvin Ruisdael helped me track down the 2002 census data for Tuvalu. I used Tuvalu's Central Statistics Division 's data, except that they show Niulakita separately from Niutao. I combined the two islands.

Country overview: 

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate at the beginning of the 20th century. The colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands was formed on 1915-11-12, by annexing some additional island possessions to the protectorate. The Ellice Islands separated on 1975-10-01, taking the name Tuvalu. The country became fully independent exactly three years later.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Tuvalu
2. Dutch: Tuvalu
3. English: Ellice Islands (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Tuvalu
5. French: Tuvalu m
6. German: Tuvalu n
7. Icelandic: Túvalú
8. Italian: Tuvalu
9. Norwegian: Tuvalu
10. Portuguese: Tuvalu
11. Spanish: Tuvalu
12. Swedish: Tuvalu

Origin of name: 

"Tuvalu" is said to be Tuvaluan for "eight islands" or "cluster of eight". (In fact, there are nine inhabited islands.)

Primary subdivisions: 

Tuvalu is divided into seven island councils and a town council.

Territorial extent: 

Niutao includes the island of Niulakita (Nurakita).