Tonga - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Tonga. The western islands (making up the Tongan Volcanic Arch) are all of volcanic origin; the eastern islands are nonvolcanic and are composed of coral limestone and sand. Mother's mean age at first birth is 24.9 years (2012 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Tonga
| Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 175 00 W |
| Map references | Oceania |
| Tarrain | mostly flat islands with limestone bedrock formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic rock |
| Natural Resources | arable land, fish |
| Natural Hazards | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou volcanism: moderate volcanic activity; Fonualei (180 m) has had frequent activity in recent years, and Niuafo'ou (260 m) has forced evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Late and Tofua |
| Irrigated Land | 0 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 419 km |
| Climate | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 717 sq km |
| Water Area | 30 sq km |
| comparative Area | four times the size of Washington, D.C. |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Kao Volcano on Kao Island 1,046 m |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 48.6% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 27.8% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 15.3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 5.6% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 12.4% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 39% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Over two thirds of the population lives on the island of Tongatapu; only 45 of the nation's 171 islands are occupied
People and Society
In Tonga, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Tongan 96.5%, other (European, Fijian, Samoan, Indian, Chinese, other Pacific Islander, other Asian, other) 3.5% (2021 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | -0.34% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 19.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | |
| Total fertility rate | 2.65 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.3 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 54.9% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | -18.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Tongan | Tongan(s) |
| Languages | Tongan only 85%, Tongan and other language 13.9%, Tongan not used at home 1.1% (2021 est.) |
| Religions | Protestant 63.9% (Free Wesleyan Church 34.2%, Free Church of Tonga 11.3%, Church of Tonga 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.5%, Assembly of God 2.5%, Tokaikolo/Maamafo'ou 1.5%, Constitutional Church of Tonga 1.2%, other Protestant 4%), Church of Jesus Christ 19.7%, Roman Catholic 13.7%, other 2.1%, none 0.6%, no answer 0.1% (2021 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 29.3% (male 15,627/female 15,142) |
| 15-64 years | 63.2% (male 33,445/female 32,867) |
| 65 years and over | 7.4% (2024 est.) (male 3,534/female 4,274) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 58.2 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 46.4 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 11.8 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 8.5 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 25.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 25.4 years |
| Female | 26.4 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 23.2% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 23,000 NUKU'ALOFA (2018). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.02 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.83 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 11.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 12.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 10.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 78 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 76.4 years |
| Female | 79.7 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 98.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 98.8% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 1.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 1.2% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 99.7% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0.3% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 30.5% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 46.1% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 15.8% (2025 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 0.4% (2019) |
| Women married by age 18 | 10.1% (2019) |
| Men married by age 18 | 2.8% (2019) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Tonga
Want to know more about Tonga? Check all different factbooks for Tonga below.
