Tonga (2004) | Indian Ocean (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.1% (male 20,873; female 20,050)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 32,018; female 32,707) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,005; female 2,584) (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish | - |
Airports | 6 (2003 est.) | - |
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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Area | total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | about 5.5 times the size of the US |
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. | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude. |
Birth rate | 24.87 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 est.) |
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Capital | Nuku'alofa | - |
Climate | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean |
Coastline | 419 km | 66,526 km |
Constitution | 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
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Currency | pa'anga (TOP) | - |
Death rate | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $63.4 million (2001) | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sonatane T. T. TUPOU
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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Disputes - international | none | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | Australia $5.5 million, New Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02) | - |
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 and the continuing upturn in inflation are major issues facing the government. | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. |
Electricity - consumption | 25.36 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 27.27 million kWh (2001) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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 | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea |
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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Ethnic groups | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 | - |
Exchange rates | pa'anga per US dollar - NA (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000), 1.5991 (1999) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965)
head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA (since NA February 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister James C. COCKER (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet, appointed by the monarch, consists of 12 members 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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Exports | NA (2001) | - |
Exports - commodities | squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops | - |
Exports - partners | US 50%, Japan 35.7%, Italy 3.6% (2003) | - |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | - |
Flag description | red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $236 million (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 26%
industry: 12% services: 62% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 175 00 W | 20 00 S, 80 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited) | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait |
Highways | total: 680 km
paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Imports | NA (2001) | - |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals | - |
Imports - partners | New Zealand 43.4%, Fiji 22.2%, Australia 11.1%, US 6.1% (2003) | - |
Independence | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (FY98/99) | - |
Industries | tourism, fishing | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2002 est.) | - |
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, WTrO (observer) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | - |
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) | - |
Labor force | 33,910 (1996) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | - |
Land use | arable land: 23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06% other: 33.33% (2001) |
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Languages | Tongan, English | - |
Legal system | based on English law | - |
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 7 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote - HRDMT 70%; seats - HRDMT 7, traditionalist 2 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.2 years
male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.5% male: 98.4% female: 98.7% (1996 est.) |
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Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
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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Merchant marine | total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 136,977 GRT/200,751 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 21, chemical tanker 2, container 1, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Australia 4, Brazil 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Greece 1, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 1, Panama 2, Romania 1, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Switzerland 3, Syria 1, United (2004 est.) |
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Military branches | Tonga Defense Services: Ground Forces (Royal Marines, Royal Guard), Maritime Force (including Air Wing) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 June (1970) | - |
Nationality | noun: Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
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Natural hazards | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
Natural resources | fish, fertile soil | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chair] | - |
Population | 110,237 (July 2004 est.) | - |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | 1.94% (2004 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2001) | - |
Religions | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) | - |
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: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (1996) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 11,200 (2002) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,400 (2002) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2001) | - |
Terrain | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge |
Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2004 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 13.3% (1996 est.) | - |