TONGA
Location:
Tonga is situated east of the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. It is 2,250 kilometres
north-northwest of New Zealand. Its total area is 748 square kilometres.
Population:
104,778 (July, 1994 estimate)
Languages:
Government:
Tonga's government is an hereditary constitutional monarchy.
Legal System:
Tonga's legal system is based on English law.
Telecommunications:
Tonga has one Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station.
Economy:
The economy's base is agriculture, which employs about 70% of the labor force and
contributes 40% to GDP. Coconuts, bananas and vanilla beans are the main crops and
make up two-thirds of exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food,
mainly from New Zealand. The manufacturing sector accounts for only 11% of GDP.
Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings, but the island remains
dependent on sizable external aid and remittances to offset its trade deficit. The
economy continued to grow in 1993, largely because of a rise in squash exports,
increased aid flows and several large construction projects. The government is now
turning its attention to further development of the private sector and the reduction of the
budget deficit.
Industries:
Tonga's main industries are agriculture, tourism and fishing.
Currency:
1 pa'anga (T$) = 100 seniti
Exchange Rates:
pa'anga (T$) per US$1 - 1.3934 (November, 1993)
Related sites:
Kingdom Of Tonga
Tonga
To the Offshore World home page.
To the Offshore Financial Centres page.