The Church of Tuvalu, (Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu) has historic ties to the Congregational Church and other churches in Samoa, and has the largest number of followers. All nine island groups have traditional chiefs who are members of the Church of Tuvalu. Most followers of other religions or denominations are found in Funafuti, the capital, with the exception of the relatively large proportion of followers of the Bah Faith on Nanumea Island. Missionaries are present and operate freely.
Australian and Tuvaluan currency are both in use, but transactions over A$1 are always conducted in Australian Dollars. For details of Australian Dollar denominations and exchange rates, see the Australia section.
The traditional buildings of Tuvalu used plants and trees from the native broadleaf forest, including timber from: Pouka, (Hernandia peltata); Ngia or Ingia bush, (Pemphis acidula); Miro, (Thespesia populnea); Tonga, (Rhizophora mucronata); Fau or Fo fafini, or woman's fibre tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus).and fibre from: coconut; Ferra, native fig (Ficus aspem); Fala, screw pine or Pandanus. The buildings were constructed without nails and were lashed and tied together with a plaited sennit rope that was handmade from dried coconut fibre.