| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Nuku'alofa |
|
Borders |
(N/A) |
|
Government type |
constitutional monarchy |
|
Population |
120,898 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
1.482% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
70.73 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
13% (FY03/04 est.)[1] |
|
127[2] | |
|
99[3] | |
|
52[4] | |
Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.[1]
Economical characteristics[]
- Currency: Paʻanga (ISO code: TOP)
- Central bank discount rate: [1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 12.47% (31 December 2009 )[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $36.16 million (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $100.7 million (31 December 2008)[1]
Statistics[]
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[5] | 162 | 155 | 137 | 149 | 173 | 203 | 218 | 238 | 259 | 278 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[6] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[8] | ||||||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References[]
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Facebook. "Tonga", from The World Facebook. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Tonga", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Tonga", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Tonga", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Tonga: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Tonga: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Tonga: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Tonga: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
External links[]
- Tonga on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Tonga
- Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
- BBC country profile