Australia-Oceania

Tuvalu (/tuːˈvɑːluː/ ( listen) too-vah-loo or /ˈtuːvəluː/ too-və-loo), formerly known as the Ellice Islands,^[2] is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia.^[3] Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls. Its population of 10,472 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km² (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.95 km² (0.75 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km² (8.1 sq mi).

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of ocean in the South Pacific. Fifty-two of the islands are inhabited.^[3]

The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 mi) in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.

Samoa ⁱ/səˈmoʊ.ə/, officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa and German Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.

Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976.^[5] The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called Navigators Islands by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.^[6]

The Pitcairn Islands ( /ˈpɪtkɛərn/;^[1] Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific.^[2] The four islands – named Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 18 square miles (47 km²). Only Pitcairn, the second largest and measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) across, is inhabited.