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.
The country's population has more than doubled since 1980 with a growth rate of 0.702%. The population at the 2002 census was 9,561,and the population at the 2012 census was 10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report). The population of Tuvalu is primarily of Polynesian ethnicity with approximately 4% of the population being Micronesian. The net migration rate is estimated at −7.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
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.