POPULATION 11,146
TUVALU CHRISTIAN CHURCH 92 percent
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST 2.4 percent
BAHAI 1.8 percent
JEHOVAH'S WITNESS 1.3 percent
ROMAN CATHOLIC 0.5 percent
OTHER 2 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The nation of Tuvalu, part of the Polynesian archipelago in the southwest Pacific Ocean, consists of nine islands in a chain 360 miles long. The total area of these low-lying, coral reef islands is only 9.4 square miles. No point on the islands is more than 15 feet above sea level. Its main crop is coconuts, and its main resource is fishing.

The pre-Christian religion of these islands, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, was suppressed in the late 1800s, though elements may remain in the everyday Christianity that now dominates Tuvaluan identity. The national motto is "Tuvalu mo te Atua," or "Tuvalu and the Almighty." The Tuvaluans see themselves as highly Christian.

Religious Tolerance

The constitution of Tuvalu enshrines tolerance, but new faiths cannot proselytize unless they have existing...