Tuvalu

n. country composed of a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean

Tuvalu (IPA: [t:u:'valu]), formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. Comprising four reef islands and five true atolls, with a gross land area of just 26 square kilometers (10 sq mi), it is the second-least populated independent country in the world, with Vatican City having the least. It is the smallest member by population of the United Nations. In terms of physical land size Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger than only the Vatican City - 0.44 km²; Monaco - 1.95 km² and Nauru - 21 km².
See more at Wikipedia.org...

Noun
1. a small island republic on the Tuvalu islands; formerly part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands until it withdrew in 1975 and became independent of the United Kingdom in 1978
(hypernym) country, state, land
(part-holonym) Tuvalu, Ellice Islands
(part-meronym) Funafuti
2. a group of coral islands in Micronesia southwest of Hawaii
(synonym) Ellice Islands
(hypernym) archipelago
(part-holonym) Micronesia, Federated States of Micronesia, TT
(part-meronym) Tuvalu

Flag of Tuvalu
Background In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. Map of Tuvalu More about Tuvalu: People Geography Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues

TV