Tonga Government

Officially named the Kingdom of Tonga, Tonga is the only country in the Pacific to have monarchy rule. Its monarchical government is an inherited traditional system whose legacy the people hold dear. In 2010, King George Tupou V introduced parliamentary democracy in Tonga. Consequently, the king became the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces and head of state. The kingdom has a Legislative Assembly, Executive, and Judiciary.

There exists an electoral body in Tonga which carries out the parliamentary elections. Out of the 26 members of Tonga’s Legislative Assembly, 17 of them are elected by residents of the country. The elected members serve for a five-year term. The other nine members of parliament are elected by the hereditary nobles’ community in Tonga.

The King of Tonga resides at the Royal Palace built in 1867. The location of the palace is northwest of Nuku’alofa City near the Pacific Ocean. Other royal palaces available to the royal family have their locations in Longoteme, Kolovai, and between Pea and Koloua. The palaces are called Fua’amotu, Liukava, and Tufuāhina & Villa respectively. The Parliament House is located along Railway Road in Nuku’alofa.

The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, the Human Rights and Democracy Movement, the People's Democratic Party, the Sustainable Nation-Building Party, and the Tongan Democratic Labor Party are all examples of political parties in Tonga.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Nuku'alofa
Languages	English and Tongan 87%, Tongan (official) 10.7%, English (official) 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.03% (2006 est.)
Ethnic Groups	Tongan 96.6%, part-Tongan 1.7%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.03% (2006 est.)
Religion	Protestant 64.9% (includes Free Wesleyan Church 37.3%, Free Church of Tonga 11.4%, Church of Tonga 7.2%, Tokaikolo Christian Church 2.6%, Assembly of God 2.3%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.2%, Constitutional Church of Tonga 0.9%, Anglican 0.8% and Full Gospel Church 0.2%), Mormon 16.8%, Roman Catholic 15.6%, other 1.1%, none 0.03%, unspecified 1.7% (2006 est.)
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Independance	4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
Area	747.00 km²
Water Area	30.00 km²
Land Area	717.00 km²
Population	106,513.00
Location	Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
GDP(PPP)	$557,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$5,300.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Japan, the United States, and Fiji.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are squash, fish, vanilla beans, and root crops.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Fiji, New Zealand, and China.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include foodstuffs, machinery, fuels, and chemicals.
Climate	Tropical; rainy season (June to December)
Terrain	Mostly flat islands with limestone bedrock formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic rock
Learn More	Tonga

Tonga Government

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