Tonga

Airports

6 total, 6 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

198 km sealed road (Tongatapu); 74 km (Vavau); 94 km unsealed roads usable only in dry weather

Merchant marine

6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 37,249 GRT/50,116 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 container, 1 liquefied gas

Ports

Nukualofa, Neiafu, Pangai

Telecommunications

3,529 telephones; 66,000 radio receivers; no TV sets; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Land Force, Maritime Force

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

NA

Agriculture

dominated by coconut, copra, and banana production; vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $220 million

Budget

revenues $54.8 million; expenditures $56.2 million, including capital expenditures of $16.9 million (FY88 est.)

Currency

pa'anga (plural--pa'anga); 1 pa'anga (T$) = 100 seniti

Electricity

5,000 kW capacity; 8 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

pa'anga (T$) per US$1--1.23 (FY89 est.), 1.37 (FY88), 1.51 (FY87), 1.43 (FY86), 1.30 (FY85)

Exports

$9.1 million (f.o.b., FY88 est.); commodities--coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra, bananas, taro, vanilla beans, fruits, vegetables, fish; partners--NZ 54%, Australia 30%, US 8%, Fiji 5% (FY87)

External debt

$31.8 million (1987)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

GDP

$86 million, per capita $850; real growth rate 3.6% (FY89 est.)

Imports

$60.1 million (c.i.f., FY88 est.); commodities--food products, beverages and tobacco, fuels, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, building materials; partners--NZ 39%, Australia 25%, Japan 9%, US 6%, EC 5% (FY87)

Industrial production

growth rate 15% (FY86)

Industries

tourism, fishing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.2% (FY87)

Overview

The economy's base is agriculture, which employs about 70% of the labor force and contributes 50% 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 10% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings, but the island remains dependent on sizable external aid and remittances to sustain its trade deficit.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)

Coastline

419 km

Comparative area

slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Continental shelf

no specific limits;

Environment

archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited); subject to cyclones (October to April); deforestation

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

25% arable land; 55% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 2% other

Natural resources

fish, fertile soil

Note

located about 2,250 km north-northwest of New Zealand, about two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand

Terrain

most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

748 km2; land area: 718 km2

Administrative divisions

three island groups; Haapai, Tongatapu, Vavau

Capital

Nukualofa

Communists

none known

Constitution

4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Siosaia a'Ulupekotofa TUITA resides in London; US--the US has no offices in Tonga; the Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga and makes periodic visits

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet), Privy Council

Flag

red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner

Independence

4 June 1970 (from UK; formerly Friendly Islands)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965); Head of Government--Prime Minister Prince Fatafehi TU'IPELEHAKE (since 16 December 1965)

Legal system

based on English law

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Assembly

Long-form name

Kingdom of Tonga

Member of

ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, FAO, ESCAP, GATT (de facto), IFAD, ITU, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

National holiday

Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970)

Political parties and leaders

none

Suffrage

all literate, tax-paying males and all literate females over 21 Legislative Assembly--last held 14-15 February 1990 (next to be held NA February 1993); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(29 total, 9 elected) 6 proreform, 3 traditionalist

Type

hereditary constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

27 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Polynesian; about 300 Europeans

Infant mortality rate

24 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

NA; 70% agriculture; 600 engaged in mining

Language

Tongan, English

Life expectancy at birth

65 years male, 70 years female (1990)

Literacy

90-95%; compulsory education for children ages 6 to 14

Nationality

noun--Tongan(s); adjective--Tongan

Net migration rate

- 11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

none

Population

101,313 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

Religion

Christian; Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents

Total fertility rate

3.9 children born/woman (1990)