Tonga Country Overview
Where is Tonga located? Tonga, or the Kingdom of Tonga, is located in the South Pacific and is an island country belonging to Polynesia. Despite its geographical proximity to Polynesia, Tonga is in its own time zone on the time zone map, Tonga Time. In this world time zone there is a large time shift from the coordinated world time of +13 hours. It is always 13 hours later there than on the world clock. This difference also remains the same throughout the year, as there is no changeover to daylight saving time.
Bordering Countries of Tonga
According to abbreviationfinder, Tonga is an Oceanian country located in the South Pacific Ocean, bordered by four countries: Samoa to the northeast, Fiji to the northwest, Niue to the east and Kermadec Islands to the south. Samoa is an Oceanian country located between Tonga and American Samoa with a coastline on the South Pacific Ocean. It has a population of over 200,000 people with most following Christianity as their religion. Samoan serves as its official language while Apia serves as its capital city which houses many attractions like Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, To Sua Ocean Trench etc. Fiji lies to the northwest of Tonga and it has borders with Vanuatu and New Caledonia in addition to Tonga. English serves as its official language while Christianity is practiced by majority of its citizens. Suva serves as its capital city which has many attractions like Colo-I-Suva Forest Park, Fiji Museum etc. Niue is located east of Tonga and it has borders shared with Cook Islands in addition to Tonga. English serves as its official language while Christianity is practiced by majority of its citizens. Alofi serves as its capital city which houses many attractions like The Ancient Chieftain’s Pathway, Limu Pools etc. Lastly, the Kermadec Islands lies south of Tonga across which lies New Zealand in addition to other remote islands like Macauley Island etc..
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Tonga is 106,095, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 106,095 |
| Population growth rate | -0.16% |
| Birth rate | 22.20 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall life expectancy | 75.60 years |
| Men life expectancy | 74.16 years |
| Women life expectancy | 77.09 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 33.26% |
| 15-64 years | 60.19% |
| 65 years and above | 6.56% |
| Median age | 22.30 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 1.01 |
| Population density | 142.03 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 33.40% |
| Ethnicities | |
| approx. 99% Polynesian Tongans; 300 Europeans | |
| Religions | |
| Protestants 76%; Catholics 16%; Baha’i 4%; Other 4% Free Wesleyan Church has over 30,000 followers, including the royal family | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.717 |
| HDI ranking | 105th out of 194 |
People in Tonga
The people of Tonga are called Tongans. 108,000 residents are distributed over the small islands. Many of Tonga’s original residents also live abroad (see Why do people of Tonga migrate?).
The second largest population in Tonga are Chinese. These often open small shops and are very enterprising. The locals don’t always like this.
Along with Samoa and Fiji, Tonga is one of the longest-populated areas in central Polynesia. By the way, the name Tonga means “south”. If you look at the map, this can be understood.
98 out of 100 people are Polynesians. Most of the people live on the largest island, which is called Tongatapu, about a third of all residents of Tonga.
Languages in Tonga
They speak Tongan, but also English.
Religions in Tonga
Most of the residents are Christians, although there are several churches here, almost a third profess to be part of the official state church of the Free Wesleyan Church. The royal family is also a member of this church.