World (2002) | Tonga (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.5% (male 21,374; female 20,555)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 29,519; female 30,322) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 1,945; female 2,422) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish |
Airports | - | 6 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
Area - comparative | land area about 16 times the size of the US | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | - | Nuku'alofa |
Climate | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) |
Coastline | 356,000 km | 419 km |
Constitution | - | 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
Currency | - | pa'anga (TOP) |
Death rate | 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.) | $57.5 million (June 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) 369-1136 FAX: [1] (917) 369-1024 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | - | none |
Economic aid - recipient | official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.) | Australia $5.5 million, New Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02) |
Economy - overview | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.) | Tonga has a small, open economy with 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 reasonable basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 27.9 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 30 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
Environment - current issues | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 |
Exchange rates | - | pa'anga per US dollar - 2.1920 (January 2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000), 1.5991 (1999), 1.4920 (1998), 1.2635 (1997) |
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 Tevita TOPOU (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 |
Exports | $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $9.3 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services | squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops |
Exports - partners | in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries | Japan 50.4%, US 31.6%, NZ 4.1%, Australia 2.1%, Fiji 1.7% (2000 est.) |
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 | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $225 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 32% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 10% services: 60% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2001 est.) | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | - | 20 00 S, 175 00 W |
Geography - note | the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe | archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited) |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 680 km
paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $70 million c.i.f. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries | New Zealand 29.8%, Japan 18.6%, Australia 12.7%, US 12.7%, Fiji 12.2% (2000 est.) |
Independence | - | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 8.6% (FY98/99) |
Industries | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems | tourism, fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 13.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries | 9.4% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 10,350 (2000 est.) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) | 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 | NA | 33,908 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.58%
permanent crops: 1% other: 88.42% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06% other: 33.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
Tongan, English |
Legal system | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court | 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 - pro-democratic 70%; seats - pro-democratic 7, traditionalist 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.94 years
male: 62.28 years female: 65.67 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 68.56 years
male: 66.13 years female: 71.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77% male: 83% female: 71% (1995 est.) |
definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.5% male: 98.4% female: 98.7% (1996 est.) |
Location | - | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 80 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 292,139 GRT/421,221 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 54, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Australia 4, Austria 1, Bolivia 1, Cyprus 1, Djibouti 1, Egypt 2, Greece 4, Lebanon 2, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Morocco 1, Norway 1, Panama 1, Romania 3, Russia 1, Sao Tome and Principe 1, Saudi Arabia 2, Singapore 1, Sweden 1, Switzerland 3, Syria 5, Ukraine 1, United Arab Emirates 16, United States 4 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | - | Tonga Defense Services (made up of three operational command components and two support elements, including the Royal Marines, Royal Guards, Maritime Force, a support/logistics group, and a training group), Police; note - a new air wing that will be subordinate to the Ministry of Defense is being developed |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) | NA% |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 4 June (1970) |
Nationality | - | noun: Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
Natural hazards | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou |
Natural resources | the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address | fish, fertile soil |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | there are no political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Tonga Human Rights and Democracy Movement or THRDM [Akilisi POHIVA, president] |
Population | 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.) | 106,137 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.23% (2002 est.) | 1.85% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama | Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | NA | 61,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
0 km |
Religions | Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.) | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (1996) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 8,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 302 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 2 (2001) |
Terrain | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base |
Total fertility rate | 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.) | 13.3% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |