The world's fourth-smallest country, one airstrip at a time
Nine coral atolls strung across the Pacific, home to roughly 11,000 people and an average elevation of about two meters — Tuvalu has become the global face of sea-level rise, all while quietly carrying on with daily life around the one runway that doubles as the town square.
Settled by Polynesian voyagers over a thousand years ago, Tuvalu became a British protectorate in 1892 and gained full independence in 1978. With almost no land more than a few meters above sea level, it has since become an outspoken voice in international climate diplomacy — including a 2023 treaty with Australia offering its citizens a path to climate migration as conditions worsen.