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Travel to Tonga — Unbiased reviews and great
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Kingdom of Tonga
Sovereign: George Tupou V (2006)
Prime Minister: Feleti Sevele
(2006)
Current government officials
Land area: 277 sq mi (717 sq km); total
area: 289 sq mi (748 sq km)
Population (2007 est.): 116,921 (growth
rate: 1.8%); birth rate: 23.7/1000; infant mortality rate:
12.0/1000; life expectancy: 70.1; density per sq mi: 422
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Nuku'alofa, 24,500
Monetary unit: Pa'anga
Languages:
Tongan (an Austronesian language), English
Ethnicity/race:
Polynesian, European
Religion:
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over
30,000 adherents)
Literacy rate: 99% (1999 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $526 million; per capita $5,100. Real growth rate:
-3.5%. Inflation: 5.9%. Unemployment: 13% (FY03/04
est.). Arable land: 20%. Agriculture: squash,
coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger,
black pepper; fish. Labor force: 33,910 (2003); agriculture
65%, industry and services 35% (1997 est.). Industries:
tourism, fishing. Natural resources: fish, fertile soil.
Exports: $34 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): squash, fish,
vanilla beans, root crops. Imports: $122 million f.o.b. (2004
est.): foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels,
chemicals. Major trading partners: Japan, China, U.S.,
Taiwan, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia (2004).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 8,000 (1996); mobile cellular: 302 (1996). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2001).
Radios: 61,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations:
2 (2001). Televisions: 2,000 (1997). Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000). Internet users: 1,000
(2000).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km.
Highways: total: 680 km; paved: 184 km; unpaved: 496 km (1999
est.). Ports and harbors: Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai.
Airports: 6 (2002).
International disputes: none.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Situated east of the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific, Tonga (also
called the Friendly Islands) consists of some 150 islands, of which 36 are
inhabited. Most of the islands contain active volcanic craters; others are
coral atolls.
Government
Hereditary constitutional monarchy.
History
Polynesians have lived on Tonga for at least 3,000 years. The Dutch
were the first to explore the islands, landing on Tafahi in 1616. British
explorer James Cook landed on islands in 1773 and 1777 and dubbed them the
Friendly Islands. The current royal dynasty of Tonga was founded in 1831
by Taufa'ahau Tupou, who took the name George I. He consolidated the
kingdom by conquest and in 1875 granted a constitution. In 1900, his
great-grandson, George II, signed a treaty of friendship with Britain, and
the country became a British protected state. The treaty was revised in
1959. Tonga became independent on June 4, 1970.
The government is largely controlled by the king, his nominees, and a
small group of hereditary nobles. In the 1990s a movement began aimed at
curtailing the powers of the monarchy, and the Tongan Pro-Democracy
Movement (TPDM) has continued to gain in popular support. In 1999, Tonga
gained UN membership.
The king's official court jester, American Jesse Bogdonoff, a former
salesman of magnets to relieve back pain, was sued by the government in
2002 for squandering $26 million of Tonga's money (40% of its annual
revenue) in unsound investment schemes. In 2004, he agreed to pay a $1
million settlement.
The king grew increasingly authoritarian and has curtailed press
freedom. In 2005, 3,000 civil servants went on strike, demanding better
pay. Throughout 2005, discontent with economic and social inequities
intensified throughout the kingdom. As a result, Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka
Ata resigned as prime minister in Feb. 2006. The following month
pro-democracy leader Feleti Sevele became the first elected commoner to
serve as the country's prime minister. In Aug. 2006, the king died and was
replaced by his son, George Tupou V.
See also Encyclopedia: Tonga.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Tonga
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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