A referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. Due to the results of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony legally ceased to exist on 1 October 1975, and on 1 January 1976, the old administration was officially separated, and two separate British colonies, Kiribati and Tuvalu, were formed. On 1 October 1978, Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth realm. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.