Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.

Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
20 00 S, 175 00 W
Oceania
total: 748 sq km ; land: 718 sq km ; water: 30 sq km
four times the size of Washington, DC
0 km
419 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm ; continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m ; highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m
fish, fertile soil
arable land: 20% ; permanent crops: 14.67% ; other: 65.33% (2005)
NA


cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou
deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited)
116,921 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 34.6% (male 20,624/female 19,779) ; 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 35,551/female 36,052) ; 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,087/female 2,828) (2007 est.)
total: 21.3 years ; male: 20.7 years ; female: 21.8 years (2007 est.)
1.847% (2007 est.)
23.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.738 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.993 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 11.99 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 10.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 70.12 years ; male: 67.6 years ; female: 72.76 years (2007 est.)
2.75 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Tongan(s) ; adjective: Tongan
Polynesian, Europeans
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
Tongan, English
definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English ; total population: 98.9% ; male: 98.8% ; female: 99% (1999 est.)


conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga ; conventional short form: Tonga ; local long form: Pule'anga Tonga ; local short form: Tonga ; former: Friendly Islands
constitutional monarchy
name: Nuku'alofa ; geographic coordinates: 21 08 S, 175 12 W ; time difference: UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u

4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970)
4 November 1875; revised 1 January 1967
based on English common law
21 years of age; universal
chief of state: King George TUPOU V (since 11 September 2006) ; head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Feleti SEVELE (since 11 February 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Viliami TANGI (since 16 May 2006) ; cabinet: Cabinet consists of 14 members, 10 appointed by the monarch for life; four appointed from among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, including two each from the nobles' and peoples' representatives serving three-year terms ; note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch, the cabinet, and two governors ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fale Alea (32 seats - 14 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms) ; elections: last held on 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008) ; election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote - HRDMT 70%, other 30%; seats - HRDMT 7, independents 2
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (Chief Justice and high court justices from overseas chosen and approved by Privy Council)
People's Democratic Party [Tesina FUKO]
Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman]; Public Servant's Association [Finau TUTONE]
ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
chief of mission: Ambassador Fekitamoeloa 'UTOIKAMANU ; chancery: 250 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022 ; telephone: [1] (917) 369-1025 ; FAX: [1] (917) 369-1024 ; consulate(s) general: San Francisco
the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga





Tonga has a small, open, South Pacific island economy. It has a narrow export base in agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. Tourism is the second-largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. High unemployment among the young, a continuing upturn in inflation, pressures for democratic reform, and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government.
$178.5 million (2004 est.)
$244 million (2005 est.)
2.4% (2005 est.)
$2,200 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 23% ; industry: 27% ; services: 50% (FY03/04 est.)
33,910 (2003)
agriculture: 65% ; industry and services: 35% (1997 est.)
13% (FY03/04 est.)
24% (FY03/04)
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

11.1% (2005 est.)

revenues: $56.97 million ; expenditures: $83.88 million (FY04/05)

squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish
tourism, fishing
1% (2003 est.)
35 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
32.55 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
880 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
842.3 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$4.321 million (FY04/05)
$22 million f.o.b. (2006)
squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops
US 39.7%, Japan 27.8%, NZ 8.2%, South Korea 7.6% (2006)
$139 million f.o.b. (2006)
Fiji 30.3%, NZ 27.7%, US 8.2%, Australia 7.5%, France 5.7%, UK 4.7% (2006)

$40.83 million (yearend, FY04/05)
$80.7 million (2004)


$NA
pa'anga (TOP)
TOP
pa'anga per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.0277 (2006), 1.96 (2005), 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003)
1 July - 30 June
$31.75 million (2005)
13,700 (2005)
29,900 (2005)
general assessment: competition between Tonga Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Shoreline Communications Tonga (SCT) is accelerating expansion of telecommunications; SCT recently granted authority to develop high-speed digital service for telephone, Internet, and television ; domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 40 telephones per 100 persons; fully automatic switched network ; international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004)
AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)
61,000 (1997)
3 (2004)
2,000 (1997)
.to
18,653 (2007)
2 (2000)
3,100 (2006)

6 (2007)
total: 1 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
total: 5 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 3 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)



total: 680 km ; paved: 184 km ; unpaved: 496 km (1999)

total: 14 ships (1000 GRT or over) 58,756 GRT/67,889 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 9, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 ; foreign-owned: 3 (Australia 1, Switzerland 1, UK 1) (2007)
Nuku'alofa

Tonga Defense Services (TDS): Land Force (Royal Guard), Naval Force (includes Royal Marines, Air Wing) (2008)
18 years of age (est.) (2004)
males age 18-49: 25,420 ; females age 18-49: 24,827 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 19,840 ; females age 18-49: 21,342 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 1,586 ; females age 18-49: 1,538 (2005 est.)
0.9% (2006 est.)

none



