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| The Friendly Islands of the South Pacific
The Kingdom of Tonga is located to the north of New Zealand (about 3 hours flying time from Auckland) and is the Pacific's last remaining island monarchy. It consists of 171 extraordinarily diverse islands scattered over an area in the central Pacific Ocean nearly as big as Japan. Tonga's nearest neighbours are Samoa to the north, Fiji to the north-west and New Caledonia, more then 1000km west. As a country, it has never been colonized by a foreign political power, although it was protected by Britain in the first half of the 20th Century. The Kingdom is divided into 3 main island groups, these being - the Vava'u Group, the Ha'apai Group and the Tongatapu Group. The capital of the Kingdom is Nuku'alofa, and has a total land size of roughly 649 square kilometres. Only 36 of the 170 islands are inhabited. It has a population of roughly 110,000 of mainly Polynesians, but that are some Europeans and Chinese. Although it is remote in both size and in location, the island boost a 98 per cent literacy level. Summary: Population: 110,000 Languages: Tongan (a Polynesian language) and English Religion: Christianity Ethnic diversity: Polynesian, some Europeans and Chinese Life expectancy: 72 years (women), 67 years (men) Capital: Nuku'alofa Total land area: 649 square kilometres Main Island: Tongatapu Political Status: Independent State (Constitutional Monarchy) Head of State: His Majesty King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV Head of Government: HRH Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata Currency: Pa'anga Major trading partners: United States, Japan, New Zealand GDP: US$228 million Inflation: 1.4 percent Major Industries: Agriculture, fishing, tourism [ Back to Top ] |
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