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Background: |
The archipelago of "The
Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became
a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900.
Tonga acquired its independence in 1970 and became a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations. It remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
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Location: |
Oceania, archipelago in the
South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New
Zealand |
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Geographic
coordinates: |
20 00 S, 175 00 W
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Map
references: |
Oceania |
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Area: |
total:
748 sq km
land: 718 sq km
water: 30 sq km |
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Area -
comparative: |
four times the size of
Washington, DC |
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Land
boundaries: |
0 km |
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Coastline: |
419 km |
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Maritime
claims: |
territorial sea:
12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate: |
tropical; modified by trade
winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
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Terrain: |
most islands have limestone
base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying
volcanic base |
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Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
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Natural
resources: |
fish, fertile soil
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Land use: |
arable land:
23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06%
other: 33.33% (2001) |
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Irrigated
land: |
NA |
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Natural
hazards: |
cyclones (October to
April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou |
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Environment -
current issues: |
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
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Environment -
international agreements: |
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
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Geography -
note: |
archipelago of 169 islands
(36 inhabited) |
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Population: |
112,422 (July 2005 est.)
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Age structure: |
0-14 years:
36.2% (male 20,738/female 19,907)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 33,226/female 33,853)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,031/female 2,667) (2005 est.)
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Median age: |
total:
20.46 years
male: 19.93 years
female: 21.02 years (2005 est.) |
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Population
growth rate: |
1.98% (2005 est.)
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Birth rate: |
25.18 births/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate: |
5.35 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration
rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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Infant
mortality rate: |
total:
12.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
69.53 years
male: 67.05 years
female: 72.14 years (2005 est.) |
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Total
fertility rate: |
3 children born/woman (2005
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS -
adult prevalence rate: |
NA |
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HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
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HIV/AIDS -
deaths: |
NA |
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Nationality: |
noun:
Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
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Ethnic groups: |
Polynesian, Europeans about
300 |
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Religions: |
Christian (Free Wesleyan
Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
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Languages: |
Tongan, English
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Literacy: |
definition:
can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.9%
male: 98.8%
female: 99% (1996 est.) |
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Country name: |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga
former: Friendly Islands |
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Government
type: |
hereditary constitutional
monarchy |
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Capital: |
Nuku'alofa |
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Administrative
divisions: |
3 island groups; Ha'apai,
Tongatapu, Vava'u |
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Independence: |
4 June 1970 (from UK
protectorate) |
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National
holiday: |
Emancipation Day, 4 June
(1970) |
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Constitution: |
4 November 1875; revised 1
January 1967 |
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Legal system: |
based on English law
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Suffrage: |
21 years of age; universal
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Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965)
head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA
(since 3 January 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister James C. COCKER (since NA
January 2001)
cabinet: cabinet consists of 16 members, 12 appointed by the
monarch for life; 4 appointed from among the elected members of the
Legislative Assembly including 2 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 for life by the monarch |
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Legislative
branch: |
unicameral Legislative
Assembly or Fale Alea (30 seats - 12 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 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote - HRDMT
70%; seats - HRDMT 7, independents 2 |
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Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are
appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (consists of the Privy Council
with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court) |
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Political
parties and leaders: |
there are no political
parties |
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Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Human Rights and Democracy
Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman] |
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International
organization participation: |
ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO (observer) |
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Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
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 |
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Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US does not have an
embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga
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Flag
description: |
red with a bold red cross
on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner |
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Economy -
overview: |
Tonga, a small, open, South
Pacific island economy, 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. Tourism is
the second largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances.
The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan
communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. 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, and rising civil service expenditures are
major issues facing the government. |
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GDP
(purchasing power parity): |
$244 million (2002 est.)
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GDP - real
growth rate: |
1.5% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$2,300 (2002 est.) |
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GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture:
23%
industry: 13%
services: 64% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force: |
33,910 (1996) |
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Labor force -
by occupation: |
agriculture 65% (1997 est.)
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Unemployment
rate: |
13.3% (1996 est.)
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Population
below poverty line: |
NA |
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Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Inflation rate
(consumer prices): |
10.3% (2002 est.)
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Budget: |
revenues:
$39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9
million (FY99/00 est.) |
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Agriculture -
products: |
squash, coconuts, copra,
bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish
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Industries: |
tourism, fishing
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Industrial
production growth rate: |
8.6% (FY98/99) |
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Electricity -
production: |
24.79 million kWh (2002)
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Electricity -
production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption: |
23.06 million kWh (2002)
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Electricity -
exports: |
0 kWh (2002) |
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Electricity -
imports: |
0 kWh (2002) |
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Oil -
production: |
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil -
consumption: |
1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
NA |
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Oil - imports: |
NA |
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Exports: |
$27 million f.o.b. (2002
est.) |
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Exports -
commodities: |
squash, fish, vanilla
beans, root crops |
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Exports -
partners: |
Japan 37.1%, China 18.7%,
US 17.7%, Taiwan 8.7%, New Zealand 7.4% (2004) |
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Imports: |
$86 million f.o.b. (2002
est.) |
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Imports -
commodities: |
foodstuffs, machinery and
transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
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Imports -
partners: |
New Zealand 37.1%, Fiji
24.3%, Australia 9.1%, China 8.9%, US 6.3% (2004) |
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Debt -
external: |
$63.4 million (2001)
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Economic aid -
recipient: |
Australia $5.5 million, New
Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02) |
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Currency
(code): |
pa'anga (TOP) |
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Currency code: |
TOP |
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Exchange
rates: |
pa'anga per US dollar -
1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000)
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Fiscal year: |
1 July - 30 June
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Telephones -
main lines in use: |
11,200 (2002) |
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Telephones -
mobile cellular: |
9,000 (2004) |
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Telephone
system: |
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: fully automatic switched network
international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004) |
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Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1
(2004) |
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Radios: |
61,000 (1997) |
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Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (2004) |
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Televisions: |
2,000 (1997) |
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Internet
country code: |
.to |
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Internet
hosts: |
18,906 (2003) |
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Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
2 (2000) |
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Internet
users: |
2,900 (2002) |
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Highways: |
total:
680 km
paved: 184 km
unpaved: 496 km (1999 est.) |
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Ports and
harbors: |
Nuku'alofa |
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Merchant
marine: |
total:
29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 136,977 GRT/200,751 DWT
by type: cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 2,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll
off 1, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 7 (Cyprus 1, France 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Romania
2, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
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Airports: |
6 (2004 est.) |
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Airports -
with paved runways: |
total:
1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports -
with unpaved runways: |
total:
5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Military
branches: |
Tonga Defense Services:
Ground Forces (Royal Marines, Royal Guard), Maritime Force (includes Air
Wing) |
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Military
service age and obligation: |
18 years of age (est.)
(2004) |
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Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
NA |
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Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA |
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Transnational Issues |
Tonga |
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Disputes -
international: |
none |
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