ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother had no legitimate children. He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI.
Tonga, by a modification of its treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom in July 1970, is responsible for its own external affairs. It maintains cordial relations with most countries and has close relations with its Pacific neighbours and the United Kingdom. In 1998, it recognized the People's Republic of China and broke relations with Taiwan.
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first ever presence at the quarter-finals.
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.
The Tonga Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Tonga. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. There is a rugby union playing population of less than 800 out of a total population of 100,000.
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga. Tonga are considered to be a tier 2 rugby nation by the International Rugby Board.
Islam in Tonga is a small minority religion in the country. Muslims in Tonga belong to Sunni denomination. The number of Muslims was estimated at less than 1000 in 2010 by the Pew Research Center in a population of about 108,000, while a report by the Fiji Muslim League estimated that in 2002 there were about 70 Muslim Tongan nationals out of a Muslim population of 100.
Te Tai Tonga is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Te Tai Tonga is Rino Tirikatene of the Labour Party, who in 2011 defeated Rahui Katene of the Māori Party, who in turn had won the seat in 2008.
Soane Tonga'uiha is a Tongan-born, New Zealand-educated, rugby union player. He plays for Ampthill and internationally for Tonga. His position of choice is loose-head prop, although he sometimes plays at tight-head. He is known for his large size and fierce runs.
Tonga – United States relations are bilateral relations between Tonga and the United States.
The overwhelming majority of people in Tonga consider themselves Christians, which is dominated by Methodists.
A significant Chinese presence in Tonga is relatively recent. There were approximately three or four thousand Chinese people living in Tonga in 2001, thus comprising 3 or 4% of the total Tongan population. This figure includes Tongan citizens of Chinese ethnicity, and marks a sharp increase from the 1996 census, which recorded only 55 persons on Chinese ethnicity living in Tonga. Chinese in Tonga and Chinese Tongans are Tonga's main ethnic minority group, and have been subjected to significant levels of racism, including racist violence, in recent years.
The Cabinet of Tonga is the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is composed primarily of the ministers of government. The latter, including the Prime Minister, are appointed by the monarch. The Governor of Ha'apai and the Governor of Vava'u also serve on the Cabinet ex officio. When in session and presided over by the monarch, the Cabinet is known as the Privy Council.
Tonga and China (PRC) established official diplomatic relations in 1998. The two countries maintain cordial diplomatic, economic and military relations.
Japan and Tonga have maintained official diplomatic relations since July 1970. Japan is Tonga's leading donor in the field of technical aid. The Japanese government describes its relations with Tonga as "excellent", and states that "the Imperial family of Japan and the Royal family of Tonga have developed a cordial and personal relationship over the years". Japan is one of only four countries to have an embassy in Nuku'alofa, whilst Tonga has an embassy in Tokyo.
The island country of Tonga has five levels of administrative divisions of Tonga. Each of these is further divided into a total of 23 districts. Below are several lists of the divisions, according to different sorting schemes.
Rino Tirikatene is a New Zealand politician and a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Te Tai Tonga electorate since the 2011 election. He is a member of the Labour Party. He comes from a family with a strong political history.
The Tongan women's national sevens team represents Tonga in rugby sevens.
