Country profile: Tonga

A group of more than 170 islands spread over an area of the South Pacific roughly the size of Japan, Tonga is the last Polynesian monarchy.

A deeply conservative, Christian country, it is ruled by a king supported by hereditary noblemen who together have a perpetual majority in parliament, electing or appointing 21 of its 30 members.

A former British protectorate, Tonga became fully independent in 1970, though it was never formally colonised.

Overview

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Tonga has no strategic or mineral resources and relies on agriculture, fishing and the money sent home by Tongans living abroad, many of them in New Zealand. Unemployment is high, particularly among the young.

100 days of mourning followed the death of King Tupou IV

Endowed with tropical beaches, rainforest, active volcanoes and ideal diving conditions, it has a developing tourist industry, its main source of hard currency.

Almost all Tongans are Polynesian and its population has remained largely untouched by immigration. This has made it ideal for genetic research into the causes of common diseases.

Although Tonga has a highly traditional society, some young, Western-educated Tongans have called for a new, more democratic constitution that would allow for direct elections to all parliamentary seats while retaining a titular monarchy.

A tentative step towards reform was taken in early 2005 when elected MPs were appointed to the cabinet for the first time. Previously, all cabinet members had been handpicked by the king from outside parliament.

But demands for change have become stronger. A public sector strike in 2005, marked by major street demonstrations, expanded into a campaign for political reform. In November 2006, riots erupted in the capital. Eight people were killed and much of the capital's business district was destroyed.

Facts

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• Full name: Kingdom of Tonga
• Population: 100,000 (UN, 2007)
• Capital: Nuku'alofa
• Area: 748 sq km (289 sq miles)
• Major languages: Tongan, English
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 74 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 pa'anga = 100 seniti
• Main exports: Fish, pumpkins, coconut products, vanilla beans
• GNI per capita: US $2,190 (World Bank, 2006)
• Internet domain: .to
• International dialling code: +676

Leaders

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Head of state: King George Tupou V

King George Tupou V was sworn in during a brief ceremony in September 2006, succeeding his father King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV when he died after a long illness. The coronation of the former crown prince has yet to take place.

King George Tupou V says he is committed to reform

The king says he is committed to economic development and democratic reform.

Following the pro-democracy riots in November 2006, the government agreed to hold elections in 2010 in which a majority of the parliament will be directly elected by a popular vote.

Tupou V owns some of Tonga's biggest businesses, including the island's only power company, a brewery and a mobile phone company. The palace says the king has started to divest himself of his commercial interests.

The King was educated in New Zealand, Switzerland and Britain. A bachelor with no children, he has named his younger brother as heir apparent. He is known for his liking for wearing military uniforms and for driving around in a London taxi.

Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, Tonga's octogenarian monarch who died in 2006

King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV died as one of the world's longest-serving monarchs.

He became king when his mother, Queen Salote Tupou III, died in 1965.

Before acceding to the throne, he held portfolios in education and health and also served as prime minister. He was a lay preacher of the Free Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Born in 1918, he studied in Australia and gained a law degree. He was the first Tongan monarch to receive a Western university education.

Media

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State-owned radio and TV tend to favour government policies, while private broadcasters offer little independent local coverage.

Private OBN TV7 went off-air in November 2006, when a march originating at its headquarters preceeded riots in the capital.

Some privately-owned newspapers do carry opposition views, but journalists sometimes face harassment and threats of criminal charges.

An amendment to the constitution, passed in 2003, increased the state's control of the media and limited the right of courts to review royal decisions. The move followed unsuccessful attempts to ban a New Zealand-based newspaper.

The press

• Tonga Chronicle - government-owned weekly
• Times of Tonga - privately-owned, published from New Zealand
• Matangi Tonga - bi-monthly

Television

• Television Tonga - government-run
• OBN TV7 - private
• Tonfon TV - pay-TV
• Friendly Island Broadcasting Network - private, Vava'u

Radio

• A3Z Radio Tonga - government-run, operates mediumwave (AM) station Radio Tonga 1 and Kool 90FM
• Radio 2000 - private FM station
• 93FM - Christian station
• Radio Nuku'alofa - private FM station