Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of 
The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis
 
 Match 237   DB Rec# - 55,985  Dataset-WOFACT
 
Source        :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 
Source key    :CI 
Program       :WORLD FACTBOOK 
Program key   :CI WOFACT 
Update sched. :Annually         
ID number     :CI WOFACT 237              
Title         :TONGA 
Data type     :TEXT 
End year      :1994
Date of record:02/16/1994
Keywords 3    : 
| TONGA 
Text          : 
TONGA 
GEOGRAPHY 
Location: Oceania, 2,250 km north-northwest of New Zealand, about 
Map references: Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World 
 
Area: 
 
total area: 748 km2 
 
land area: 718 km2 
 
comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC 
 
Land boundaries: 0 km 
 
Coastline: 419 km 
 
continental shelf: not specified 
 
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm 
 
territorial sea: 12 nm 
 
International disputes: none 
 
Climate: tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), 
cool season (May to December) 
 
Terrain: most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral 
formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base 
 
Natural resources: fish, fertile soil 
 
Land use: 
 
arable land: 25% 
 
permanent crops: 55% 
 
meadows and pastures: 6% 
 
forest and woodland: 12% 
 
other: 2% 
 
Irrigated land: NA km2 
 
Environment: archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited); subject to 
cyclones (October to April); deforestation 
 
PEOPLE 
Population: 103,949 (July 1993 est.) 
 
Population growth rate: 0.8% (1993 est.) 
 
Birth rate: 25.16 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) 
 
Death rate: 6.75 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) 
 
Net migration rate: -10.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) 
 
Life expectancy at birth: 
 
total population: 67.79 years 
 
male: 65.5 years 
 
female: 70.24 years (1993 est.) 
 
Total fertility rate: 3.68 children born/woman (1993 est.) 
 
Nationality: 
 
noun: Tongan(s) 
 
adjective: Tongan 
 
Ethnic divisions: Polynesian, Europeans about 300 
 
Religions: Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) 
 
Languages: Tongan, English 
 
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976) 
 
total population: 57% 
 
male: 60% 
 
female: 60% 
 
Labor force: NA 
 
by occupation: agriculture 70%, mining (600 engaged in mining) 
 
GOVERNMENT 
Names: 
 
conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga 
 
conventional short form: Tonga 
 
former: Friendly Islands 
 
Digraph: TN 
 
Type: hereditary constitutional monarchy 
 
Capital: Nuku alofa 
 
Administrative divisions: three island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u 
 
Independence: 4 June 1970 (from UK) 
 
Constitution: 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967 
 
Legal system: based on English law 
 
National holiday: Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970) 
POHIVA; Christian Democratic Party, leader NA 
 
Suffrage: all literate, tax-paying males and all literate females over 21 
 
Elections: 
 
Legislative Assembly: last held 14-15 February 1990 (next to be held 3-4 
February 1993); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (29 total, 9 elected) 6 
proreform, 3 traditionalist 
 
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council 
of Ministers (cabinet), Privy Council 
 
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea) 
 
Judicial branch: Supreme Court 
 
Leaders: 
 
Chief of State: King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965) 
 
Head of Government: Prime Minister Baron VAEA (since 22 August 1991); 
Deputy Prime Minister S.  Langi KAVALIKU (since 22 August 1991) 
 
Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, 
IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNCTAD, UNESCO, 
UNIDO, UPU, WHO 
 
Diplomatic representation in US: Ambassador Sione KITE, resides in London 
 
US diplomatic representation: the US has no offices in Tonga; the 
ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga and makes periodic visits 
 
Flag: red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper 
hoist-side corner 
 
ECONOMY 
Overview: The economy's base is agriculture, which employs about 70% of 
the labor force and contributes 40% to GDP. Coconuts, bananas, and vanilla 
beans are the main crops and make up two-thirds of exports. The country must 
import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The 
manufacturing sector accounts for only 11% of GDP. Tourism is the primary 
source of hard currency earnings, but the island remains dependent on sizable 
external aid and remittances to offset its trade deficit. 
 
National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $92 million (FY90) 
 
National product real growth rate: 0.4% (FY92 est.) 
 
National product per capita: $900 (FY90) 
 
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (FY92 est.) 
 
Unemployment rate: NA% 
 
Budget: revenues $36.4 million; expenditures $68.1 million, including 
capital expenditures of $33.2 million (FY91 est.) 
 
commodities: coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra, bananas, taro, 
vanilla beans, fruits, vegetables, fish 
 
partners: Japan 34%, US 17%, Australia 13%, NZ 13% (FY91) 
 
Imports: $68.3 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.) 
 
commodities: food products, machinery and transport equipment, 
manufactures, fuels, chemicals 
 
partners: NZ 33%, Australia 22%, US 8%, Japan 8% (FY91) 
 
External debt: $47.5 million (FY91) 
 
Industrial production: growth rate 1.7% (FY90); accounts for 11% of GDP 
 
Electricity: 6,000 kW capacity; 8 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita 
(1990) 
 
Industries: tourism, fishing 
 
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; dominated by coconut, copra, and 
banana production; vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper 
 
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $16 million; 
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $258 
million 
 
Currency: 1 pa'anga (T$) = 100 seniti 
 
Exchange rates: pa'anga (T$) per US$1 - 1.3996 (January 1993), 1.3471 
(1992), 1.2961 (1991), 1.2809 (1990), 1.2637 (1989), 1.2799 (1988) 
 
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June 
 
COMMUNICATIONS 
Highways: 198 km sealed road (Tongatapu); 74 km (Vava'u); 94 km unsealed 
roads usable only in dry weather 
 
Ports: Nukualofa, Neiafu, Pangai 
 
Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,765 GRT/10,597 
DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 liquefied gas 
 
Airports: 
 
total: 6 
 
usable: 6 
 
with permanent-surface runways: 1 
 
with runways over 3,659 m: 0 
 
with runways 2,440-3,659: 1 
 
with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1 
 
 
Defense forces 
Branches: Tonga Defense Force, Tonga Maritime Division, Royal Tongan 
Marines, Royal Tongan Guard, Police 
 
Manpower availability: NA 
 
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP 
 
 
 
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This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM,
July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries 
Local Filename: WF940226.TXT