Nanumea

Ranks in 2nd place on the list of the most beautiful islands in Tuvalu is Nanumea. This island is the most northwestern atoll of Tuvalu, a Polynesian republic comprised of nine coral atolls and islands scattered across approximately 400 miles (640 km) of Pacific Ocean roughly south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea has a population of 512 people and a land area of 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) (2017 census).

Nanumea is located along one edge of the Polynesian triangle, close south of the Gilbert Islands, which are Micronesian in language and culture. Nanumea is a conventional atoll, consisting of a series of low islets perched on a coral reef shelf and encircling a lagoon. The dry land area is approximately 3.9 square kilometers and measures approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) long by 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) broad (1.5 sq mi). The two largest islets, Nanumea and Lakena, account for 90 percent of the atoll's dry land area.

Location: northwestern Tuvalu