Asia and Oceania
Tonga
Last reviewed: 3 July 2008
Country information
Area: 748 sq km (464 sq mi)
Population: 100,200 (2005, UNESCAP)
Capital City: Nuku'alofa
People: Polynesian, Europeans
Languages: Tongan, English
Religions: Christian
Currency: Pa'anga
Major Political Parties: Only one in a conventional sense. However, the Tonga Human Rights and Democracy Movement though not a political party is the organisation that is most likely to represent citizens' views. The People's Democratic Party was established in April 2005.
Government: Unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fale Alea (34 seats - 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms.)
Head of State: King Siaosi (George) TUPOU V (since September 2006)
Prime Minister: Hon Feleti (Fred) Sevele (since March 2006),
Foreign Minister: Hon Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumoepeau-Tupou
Membership of international groups/ organisations: Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Commonwealth, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Group of 77 at the United Nations (G77), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (SPARTECA), Pacific Community (SPC), South Pacific Forum (SPF), United Nations (UN), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World Trade Organisation (WTO).
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