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Important facts

Capital: Nukualofe (See more on SIMPLYYELLOWPAGES.COM)

Official language: Tongan, English

Currency: Pa’anga

Continent: Australia and Oceania-Australia-Oceania

The realm of the fruit bats

Tonga has a kingdom, the history of which is more than 1000 years old.

Location

According to Countryaah, Tonga is an island nation in the southern Pacific that comprises more than 100 islands. However, most of them are uninhabited due to volcanic activity. Just a quarter of the national territory, which extends to the area between New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa, is populated.

Background information on Tonga

Tonga was never under colonial rule for long, like its neighboring islands, which were also discovered by European seafarers in the 18th century.
Tonga was best known in the west for a rare species of bat, the fruit bats ! Another natural spectacle are the blow holes on Houma. They live up to their name at the turn of the tide, when the receding water creates whistling sounds.

Vacation in Tonga

The best time to visit the area is the seven months between May and November. In the rest of the time there can be strong storms, which sometimes, coming from the Antarctic, can be very cold and rainy.

The capital, Nuku ‘alofa, is best reached by international flight. There you can also visit the royal palace and the royal tombs near the shore. However, you can only marvel at their typical architecture from a distance, as visitors are not allowed to enter the tombs. Unfortunately, large parts of the capital, which houses 30,000 people, were destroyed in 2006!

Tonga has a long tradition and cultural behaviors that are alien to Westerners. It is best to rent a private guest house in order to find out about local customs first hand. This becomes clear to visitors at the latest when entering the royal tombs in the capital and Lapaha, part of the center of the ancient Tonga empire.

Mobility in Tonga

Ferries operate between the islands. However, the journeys on these are much longer and more arduous than on domestic flights. Inter-island flights are possible as there is a domestic flight company. Book the flight in good time and make sure you get a reconfirmation, as the seats on the small planes are very popular and you could otherwise be stuck on an island for some time!

Other destinations in Tonga

The Ha’amonga, an about 1000 year old stone gate in the northeast of Tongatapu near Afa. Its importance as part of the royal palace or as an astronomical observation station is uncertain. Eua, the (forgotten) island is home to Tonga’s largest national park and many surprises for nature lovers. The remote islands of Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou, with a combined population of barely 2000, have never been visited by most Tongans because of their remoteness (closer to Samoa than Tonga).

Tonga offers just as much for culture, architecture, archeology and nature lovers as it does fans of water sports such as diving and sailing. Apart from that, there are many secluded, hidden and lonely beaches on the countless islands!

Important facts

Capital: Nukualofe

Official language: Tongan, English

Currency

Currency (sub-unit)

Pa’anga (100 Seniti)

ISO 4217 code

TOP / 776

Geography

Continent: Australia-Oceania

Region: Australia and Oceania

Geo coordinates: S -21 ° -10 ‘-44.3 ” W -175 ° -11’ -53.7″

Highest mountain: unnamed (1,033 m)

Total area: 748 km²

Mainland: 718 km²

Coastline: 419 km

Politics

Dependency: Great Britain until 1970 (Protectorate)

UN member since: 1999

Other political affiliation: Commonwealth

Form of government: Constitutional monarchy

Economy

Export goods: Pumpkins, vanilla

Electricity consumption: 37 million KWh

Cultivation area: 64.5%

Pigs: 81,200 pieces

Fishing: 4,900 t

Demographic data

Residents: 114,700

Residents in cities: 51,100

Average age: 20.7 years

0-14 years: 35.3%

15-64 years: 60.5%

> 65 years: 4.2%

Population growth: 2.01%

Birth rate: 25.37 / 1,000 residents

Death rate: 5.28 / 1,000 residents

Ratio men / women: 0.99

Fertility: 3 children / woman

Infant mortality: 12.3 ‰

Life expectancy men: 67.32 years

Life expectancy women: 72.45 years

Country codes and abbreviations

ISO 3166 Alpha 2: TO

ISO 3166 Alpha 3: VOLUME

ISO 3166 numeric: 776

Top Level Domain: to

IOC country code: TGA

UN / LOCODE: TO

Source: Abbreviationfinder

Transportation

Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 16

Health

Number of doctors: 45

Daily food intake: 3,090 kcal / resident

Education

History

Foundation: 1970

Last sovereign since: 1970

Religion

Main religious group: Christians

Crime

Prison inmates: 100

GETTING THERE

Arriving by plane

Tonga is served by Air New Zealand (NZ), Air Pacific (FJ) (Internet: www.airpacific.com) and Polynesian Airlines (PH), among others.

Air passes

The Sky Team Asia Pass is valid depending on the number of coupons (min. 3, max. 8) for flights between Korea (Rep.) Or Japan and the Southwest Pacific (American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands) Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu). The pass can only be purchased together with a long-haul flight operated by SkyTeam partners outside of the above countries. The pass is valid for a maximum of 60 days. More information at www.skyteam.com.

Departure fee

25 T $; Transit passengers and children under the age of 12 are exempt.

Arrival by ship

The main ports of Nuku’alofa, Pangai, Neiafu and Niuatoputapu are visited by some cruise lines.