Adopted in 1997. The flag of Tuvalu is light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant. The outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow, five-pointed stars on a blue field symbolizing the nine atolls in the ocean. (ref: CIA World Factbook) Tuvalu is an island nation in the South Pacific, a former British protectorate that became an independent Commonwealth member in 1978, and a United Nations member in 2000.