TUVALU

CAPITAL: Funafuti FLAG: The national flag has the Union Jack in the upper quarter nearest the hoist; nine yellow stars on a light blue field are arranged in the same pattern as Tuvalu’s nine islands. ANTHEM: Tuvalu mo te Atua (Tuvalu for the Almighty). MONETARY UNIT: Both the Australian dollar (A$) and the Tuvaluan dollar (T$) of 100 cents are legal tender. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 Tuvaluan cents; 1 and 5 Tuvaluan dollars; and notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 Australian dollars. T$1 = US$0.61728 (or US$1 = T$1.62) as of May 2003. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is being introduced, but imperial measures are still commonly employed. HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; National Children’s Day, first Monday in August; Tuvalu Day, 1 October; Christmas Day, 25 December; Boxing Day, 26 December. Movable holidays include Commonwealth Day (March), Queen’s Official Birthday (June), and Prince of Wales’s Birthday (November); movable religious holidays include Good Friday and Easter Monday. TIME: Midnight = noon GMT.