The Tuvalu flag refers to the light blue flag. The corner on one side of the flagpole is the Commonwealth flag. Nine yellow pentagonal stars are arranged in a ring on the flag surface beside the flying angle of the flag. Tuvalu's local language means "group of eight islands". It belongs to Polynesia and consists of nine ring-shaped coral islands. In the nineteen nineties, Tuvalu became a British "protectorate". Colonial government was established in 1976, autonomy was implemented in 1978, independence was declared on October 1 of the same year, and the flag was adopted as the national flag.