Tonga (2005) | Italy (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u | 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto |
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.) |
0-14 years:
14.17% (male 4,209,102; female 3,964,765) 15-64 years: 67.48% (male 19,375,742; female 19,546,332) 65 years and over: 18.35% (male 4,368,264; female 6,215,620) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 6 (2004 est.) | 135 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
97 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
total:
301,230 sq km land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Arizona |
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. | Italy became a nation-state belatedly - in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the more prosperous north. |
Birth rate | 25.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$488 billion expenditures: $501 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Nuku'alofa | Rome |
Climate | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
Coastline | 419 km | 7,600 km |
Constitution | 4 November 1875; revised 1 January 1967 | 1 January 1948 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
conventional long form:
Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
Currency | - | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Italy at a fixed rate of 1,936.27 Italian lire per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Death rate | 5.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $63.4 million (2001) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2154 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
Disputes - international | none | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1997) |
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, a continuing upturn in inflation, and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government. | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Since 1992, Italy has adopted budgets compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); wage moderation agreements by representatives of government, labor, and employers have helped to bring Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. Italy's economic performance, however, has lagged behind that of its EU partners and it must work to stimulate employment, promote labor flexibility, reform its expensive pension system, and tackle the informal economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 23.06 million kWh (2002) | 272.35 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 530 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 42.539 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 24.79 million kWh (2002) | 247.679 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
79.09% hydro: 18.08% nuclear: 0% other: 2.83% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) 4,807 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 | air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities |
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 |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
Exchange rates | pa'anga per US dollar - 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996) |
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 |
chief of state:
President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a 12-party government coalition; note - BERLUSCONI's coalition includes Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Northern League |
Exports | NA | $241.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | Japan 37.1%, China 18.7%, US 17.7%, Taiwan 8.7%, New Zealand 7.4% (2004) | EU 56.8% (Germany 16.4%, France 12.9%, Netherlands 7.1%, Spain 6.3%, Netherlands 2.9%), US 9.5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.273 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 23%
industry: 13% services: 64% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
2.5% industry: 30.4% services: 67.1% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 175 00 W | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited) | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
Heliports | - | 4 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 680 km
paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1999 est.) |
total:
654,676 km paved: 654,676 km (including 6460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market |
Imports | NA | $231.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
Imports - partners | New Zealand 37.1%, Fiji 24.3%, Australia 9.1%, China 8.9%, US 6.3% (2004) | EU 61% (Germany 19.3%, France 12.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, Spain 4.4%), US 5.0% (1999) |
Independence | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (FY98/99) | 1.9% (2000) |
Industries | tourism, fishing | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
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.) |
5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2000) |
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) | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 27,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
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) | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
Labor force | 33,910 (1996) | 23.4 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) | services 61.9%, industry 32.6%, agriculture 5.5% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,932.2 km border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06% other: 33.33% (2001) |
arable land:
31% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 23% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Tongan, English | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
Legal system | based on English law | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation plus, in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.53 years
male: 67.05 years female: 72.14 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
79.14 years male: 75.97 years female: 82.52 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.9% male: 98.8% female: 99% (1996 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) |
total:
445 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,005,136 GRT/10,556,244 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 41, chemical tanker 77, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 38, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 11, petroleum tanker 85, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 64, short-sea passenger 26, specialized tanker 14, vehicle carrier 15 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Tonga Defense Services: Ground Forces (Royal Marines, Royal Guard), Maritime Force (includes Air Wing) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $20.7 billion (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.7% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
14,248,674 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
12,244,166 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
304,369 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
noun:
Italian(s) adjective: Italian |
Natural hazards | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
Natural resources | fish, fertile soil | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties | Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Christian Democratic Center or CDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Grazia FRANCESCATO]; House of Liberties (formerly Freedom Alliance, a center-right coalition) [leader Silvio BERLUSCONI] - Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Democratic Union, Northern League; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Democratic Socialists [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Popular Party [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolored Flame or MSI-FI [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Radical Party (formerly Panella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Union of Democrats for Europe [Clemente MASTELLA]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman] | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) |
Population | 112,422 (July 2005 est.) | 57,679,825 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.98% (2005 est.) | 0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Nuku'alofa | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Radios | - | 50.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
19,394 km standard gauge: 18,071 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,014 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,322 km electrified) narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,211 km 0.950-m gauge (153 km electrified) (1998) |
Religions | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
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.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
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) |
general assessment:
modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,200 (2002) | 25 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,000 (2004) | 20.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2004) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.3% (1996 est.) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,400 km
note: for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value |