Postage stamps and postal history of Tuvalu

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tuvalu.

Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. 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. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world.

Tuvalu was formerly the Ellice Islands, part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands which split into Kiribati and Tuvalu upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1978 and 1979.^[1]

The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is the government body in Tuvalu that issues new stamps and first day covers, which are purchased by stamp collectors around the world. The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is located in Funafuti.

The first stamps of Tuvalu were overprinted stamps of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands issued on 1 January 1976.^[2]