The Tonga archipelago (group of islands) is in the Pacific Ocean about 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) southwest of Hawaii and about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northeast of New Zealand. The country consists of a series of islands, clustered into 3 main groups: Tongatapu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u; these were formerly known as the Friendly Islands. The total land area is 748 square kilometers (289 square miles), about 4 times the size of Washington, D.C. The coastline is 419 kilometers (260 miles). The capital is located on Tongatapu island.

POPULATION.

The population of Tonga was estimated at 102,321 in mid-2000, a slight increase over the 1996 census population of 97,784. In 2000 the birth rate stood at 27.2 per 1,000 while the death rate stood at 6.1 per 1,000. With a projected annual population growth rate of 0.6 percent in the decade beginning with 2001, the population is expected to reach 104,100 by 2010. This relatively slow rate of growth is a result of an annual net migration rate of 15.1 per 1,000 population. Much of this migration is to New Zealand, but Tongans have also settled in Australia, the United States, and Europe.

The population is predominantly of Tongan (Polynesian) ethnic origin, although there are small numbers of Europeans and Chinese. Only 32 percent of the population live in urban areas, mainly the capital, Nuku'alofa. The urban growth rate is only slightly higher than the total growth rate, which was estimated at 1.91 percent in 2000. The Tongan population is very young, with nearly 42 percent under 15 years of age. Those between the ages of 15 and 64 make up 54 percent of the population, with the remaining 4 percent 65 years old and over. Various branches of Christianity, including Roman Catholicism, the Tokaikolo Church of Christ, and Free Wesleyan, are among those practiced on Tonga.

AGRICULTURE.²

Rural Tongans rely on plantation and subsistence agriculture. Plants grown for both market cash crops and home use include bananas, Coconuts, coffee beans, vanilla beans, and root crops such as cassava, taro. The processing of coconuts into copra and desiccated (dried) coconut was once the only significant industry but deteriorating prices on the world market has brought this once vibrant industry, as everywhere throughout the island nations of the south Pacific, to a complete standstill. In addition, the feudal land ownership system meant that farmers had no incentive to invest in planting long-term tree crops on land they did not own. Pigs and poultry are the major types of livestock. Horses are kept for draft purposes, primarily by farmers working their ʻapi ʻuta (a plot of bushland). More cattle are being raised, and beef imports are declining. The export of squash to Japan once brought relief to a struggling economy but recently local farmers are increasingly wary of this market due to price fluctuations, not to mention the huge financial risks involved.