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Geography 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
Area:total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km
water: 30 sq km
Area - comparative:four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:0 km
Coastline:419 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
Terrain:most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m
Natural resources:fish, fertile soil
Land use:arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 14.67%
other: 65.33% (2005)
Irrigated land:NA
Natural hazards:cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou
Environment - current issues:deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited)

Tonga Quickstats

  • Population: 116,921 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 748 sq km
  • Density: 153 /km² (67th¹)
  • GDP (total): $817 million (167th)
  • GDP (per capita): $7,984 (76th)
  • Literacy: 98.9%

Languages of Tonga

Useful to know

  • Currency: Paʻanga (TOP)
  • Dial code: +676

International Trade

External sites

More Resources

Tonga Internet

  • Usage: 3,000
  • Penetration: 2.9 %
  • Top Domain: .tn

WT eBusiness info:

  • Success Ranking: 100
  • Market testing: Untested
  • Overall risk: High
  • Overall reward: Low

e-maturity:

  • Tourism: 10%
  • eCommerce: 10%
  • Gaming: 10%
  • eLearning: 10%

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