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 35,857 GRT/480,726 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 radios; no TV sets; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Land Force, Maritime Division, Royal Tongan Marines, Royal Tongan Guard, Police

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

NA

Agriculture

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

Budget

revenues $30.6 million; expenditures $48.9 million, including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (FY89 est.)

Currency

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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $16 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $240 million

Electricity

6,000 kW capacity; 8 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

pa'anga (T$) per US$1--1.2832 (January 1991), 1.2809 (1990), 1.2637 (1989), 1.2799 (1988), 1.4282 (1987), 1.4960 (1986), 1.4319 (1985)

Exports

$9.6 million (f.o.b., FY90 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

$42.0 million (FY89)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

GDP

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

Imports

$59.9 million (c.i.f., FY90 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); accounts for 11% of GDP

Industries

tourism, fishing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.5% (FY89)

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 11% 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 Continental shelf: no specific limits; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Comparative area

slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Environment

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

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

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

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 (Fale Alea)

Long-form name

Kingdom of Tonga

Member of

ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, SPC, SPF, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO

National holiday

Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Reform Movement, 'Akolisi POHIVA

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

26 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

Polynesian; about 300 Europeans

Infant mortality rate

23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

NA; 70% agriculture; 600 engaged in mining

Language

Tongan, English

Life expectancy at birth

65 years male, 70 years female (1991)

Literacy

100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can read and write a simple message in Tongan or English (1976)

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

- 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

none

Population

102,272 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)

Religion

Christian; Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents

Total fertility rate

3.8 children born/woman (1991)