Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately 800 km (500 mi) north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west, Niue to the east, and Kermadec to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) from New Zealand's North Island.
The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
Sālote Tupou III was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, the longest of any Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height, standing 6 ft 3 in tall in her prime.
George Tupou II was the King of Tonga from 18 February 1893 until his death. He was officially crowned at Nukuʻalofa, on 17 March 1893. He was also the 20th Tuʻi Kanokupolu.
George Tupou V was King of Tonga from 2006 to his death in 2012.
Kolonga is a village and the most populated settlement located on the northeast coast of Tongatapu in the Hahake District, Kingdom of Tonga. Kolonga is a hereditary estate of Lord Nuku.
The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Only legitimate descendants through legitimate line of King George Tupou I's son and grandson, Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga and Prince ʻUelingatoni Ngū, are entitled to succeed. A person loses their right of succession and deprives their descendants of their right of succession if he or she marries without the monarch's permission.
Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE was a Tongan high chieftain and Prince consort of Tonga as the husband of Queen Sālote Tupou III. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1923 until his death in 1941.
Siaosi ʻAlipate Halakilangi Tau’alupeoko Vaea Tupou, more commonly known as Baron Vaea, was a Tongan politician who served as Prime Minister of Tonga. Vaea was a nephew of Queen Sālote, who ruled Tonga from 1918 until 1965, and a member of the Tongan nobility. His career in the Tongan government spanned 54 years.
Tongan nationality law is regulated by the 1875 Constitution of Tonga, as amended; the Nationality Act, and its revisions; and international agreements entered into by the government of Tonga. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Tonga. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Tongan nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Tonga or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Tongan nationality. It can be granted to persons who have lived in the country for a specific period of time, or who have an affiliation to the country through naturalisation.
Siosa'ia Ma'ulupekotofa Tuita is a Tongan royal and diplomat. He is the current Chief Tuita, Lord Tuita.
There are 33 traditional noble titles in the modern Kingdom of Tonga. They are all estate holders. Twenty titles were established by Siaosi Tupou I with the Constitution of 1875. In 1880, he added 11 more. Tupou II created the titles Lasike in 1894 and Veikune in 1903. Sālote Tupou III made in 1921 the title of Tupoutoʻa. In the beginning, it was forbidden for a noble to have more than one title. Later, this was made possible.
Tongan kava ceremonies play an integral part of Tongan society and governance. They range in formality, from informal “faikava” or kava “parties” to the highly stratified, ancient, and ritualized Taumafa Kava, or Royal Kava Ceremony. Tongan kava ceremonies continue to permeate Tongan society both in Tonga and diaspora. Their cultural importance includes strengthening cultural values and principles, while solidifying traditional ideals of duty and reciprocity, reaffirming societal structures, and entrenching the practice of pukepuke fonua, or tightly holding on to the land, a Tongan cultural ideal to maintain, preserve, and live traditional Tongan culture.
Princess Royal Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu, The Honourable Lady Tuita is a Tongan princess and member of the Tongan royal family.
The Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga is an Order of Merit awarded for exceptional services to Tonga and the Crown of Tonga. Currently, it is the highest honor that is conferred by the Kingdom of Tonga.
Sālote Lupepauʻu was Queen of Tonga from 1845 to 1889 as the wife of George Tupou I. She was the namesake of the Queen Salote College.
Lavinia Veiongo Fotu was Queen of Tonga from 1899 to 1902 as the first wife of George Tupou II.
ʻEseta Fuafolau Vakapuna ʻa Ngu Fusituʻa, styled Dowager Lady Fusituʻa is a Tongan former teacher, government official and Cabinet Minister. She was the first Tongan woman to obtain a bachelor's degree.
Siaosi ‘Alokuo’ulu Wycliffe Fusitu’a, styled Lord Fusitu’a was a Tongan politician and noble. He was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga from 1990 to 1998.
Foreign relations between Germany and Tonga began on 1 May 1976.
