Tokelau

Tokelau (meaning "northwest wind" or "leafy tip") is a New Zealand-dependent territory in the South Pacific Ocean and consists of three tropical coral atolls (from the northwest: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo) with a total area of 12.2 km² and a population of 1499 (October 2016), 48 of whom live and work as employees of the Apia-based Tokelau Public Service (TPS) and their dependents in Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoa Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.

Until 1976, Tokelau's official name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is an integral part of New Zealand.  Its affairs are governed by the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who since 1980 has appointed an Administrator of Tokelau to administer the three atolls. This has always been the New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa. However, much of the responsibility has been transferred to the Tokelauan population, in particular the councils of elders (taupulega) of the three atolls, so that the administrator acts more or less only as an interface between the colony and the motherland. The basis of Tokelauan legislation, administration and justice is the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948.