Islam by country · Oceania
Islam in Tuvalu: history and Muslim population data
Explore CoMPS research on the historical journey of Islam in Tuvalu, alongside population data and an interactive timeline.
Open Tuvalu in the interactive map
History of Islam in Tuvalu
It was occupied by the British in 1892, changed its name from Ellice Islands in 1974, and gained its independence from the UK in 1978. It has a total area of 26 sq km, consisting of 124 islands spread over half a million square kilometers of South Pacific Ocean, and nine of which are inhabited. These are from south to north: Niulakita (0.4 sq km), Nukulaelae (1.8 sq km), Funafuti (2.8 sq km) where the capital Funafuti is located and over half of the population lives, Nukufetau (3.0 sq km), Vaitupu (5.6 sq km), Nui (2.8 sq km), Niutao (2.5 sq km), Nanumaga (2.8 sq km) and Nanumea (3.9 sq km). The name 'Tuvalu' means 'group of eight' referring to the country's eight largest and traditionally inhabited islands.
The presence of Muslims in these islands remains minimal, estimated at ten or 0.1% in 2002 and twenty or 0.2% in 2012. Thus, assuming that the percentage of Muslims will continue to increase by 0.05 of a percentage point per decade; then the Muslim population is expected to remain less than one hundred throughout this century.
Historical Muslim population dataset for Tuvalu
The figures below are from the CoMPS historical dataset. Population values are expressed in thousands; 2100 is a modelled projection, not a present-day count.
| Year | Total population (thousands) | Muslim population (thousands) | Muslim share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 2.50 | 0.000 | 0.00% |
| 2000 | 9.64 | 0.010 | 0.10% |
| 2100 | 14.22 | 0.092 | 0.65% |
For the full time series and visualisation, use the interactive map above.