STAR RATINGS
INCOME DISTRIBUTION ++,,,
Corruption allegations have dogged
all recent governments. It is traditional
to acknowledge royalty and nobles
through financial and traditional tokens.LITERACY +++++
99.4%. Most Tongans can read and
write in both Tongan and English.LIFE EXPECTANCY ++++,
71 years (Fiji 67, NZ 82).POSITION OF WOMEN ++,,,
Traditionally, women hold a higher
rank than men. Women won 2 of the 17
parliamentary seats at the last election.
Women share the same voting rights
as men. The 2017 elections saw
15 women campaigning for a seat.
One woman was elected. Women
cannot inherit land but can lease land
allotments. Rights of ownership are
directed by nobles or the crown using
a land allotment system.FREEDOM ++,,,
The one recognized political party was
that led by the late prime minister.
There are several privately owned
newspapers and radio stations but
media freedom is restricted. In recent
months, the Cabinet has discussed
the idea of a shutdown of Facebook
over allegations made against the royal
family. The Taimi ‘o Tonga newspaper
was banned in 2003 for publishing
anti-government articles. In 2017, the
tension between Pohiva and the Tonga
Broadcasting Commission resulted in
the sacking of its chief executive,
Nanise Fifita.SEXUAL MINORITIES ++,,,
Same-sex marriage is illegal, as is
homosexuality. Local LGBTQI+ groups
have formed to lobby the government
on the issue.POLITICS ++,,,
Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa was the finance
minister in the previous government
but pointedly defected from the ruling
party along with three others during the
wrangling over parliament’s election of
the new PM. ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s democracy
agenda appears to have been shelved
and it is thought that Tu’i’oneta’s priority
is to repair relations with the King.AT A GLANCE
LEADER: Head of state King Tupou VI; Prime
Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa
ECONOMY: GNI per capita: $4,300 (Fiji $5,860,
New Zealand $40,820).
Monetary unit: Pa’anga (TOP).
Main exports: squash, watermelon, cassava,
vanilla beans, fish, seaweed, coconuts, copra
and kava.
The majority of Tonga’s population live by
subsistence farming. Remittances from Tongans
overseas provide the largest source of hard
currency, followed by tourism. The country
imports a high proportion of its food, mainly
from New Zealand/Aotearoa.
POPULATION: 103,197. Annual population
growth rate 1.2%. People per square kilometre
138 (UK 271).
HEALTH: Infant mortality 13 per 1,000 live
births (Fiji 22, NZ 5). Health services are
available free of charge to locals.ENVIRONMENT: The archipelago has 169
islands, only 36 of which are inhabited. The
main island, Tongatapu, is completely flat, and
covered in banana, coconut and breadfruit
trees. Mangroves are found on the coastline.
The threat from climate change, including rising
ocean levels, is a grave concern.RELIGION: Free Wesleyan Church
(Methodist) 35%, Mormons 19%, Roman
Catholic 14% and Free Church of Tonga 12%.
The country’s motto is ‘God and Tonga are
my inheritance’.LANGUAGE: Tongan and English are both
official languages.Photos, clockwise from top left: a rugby match between an invited World 15 team and Ikaletahi, the
Tongan national team, in celebration of King George Tupou V’s coronation in 2006; graffiti on a
burnt-out store after the riots in the capital Nuku’alofa in November 2006 – businesses that were
foreign-owned or owned by the Tongan elite were targeted by rioters; a portrait of the former prime
minister, ‘Akilisi Pohiva, who died in September 2019; women and children waiting for transport home
after Sunday-morning church in Neiafu, the second-largest town in Tonga, on Vava’u island – the
women are wearing black mourning clothes.
JOCELYN CARLIN/PANOS
changes were at last introduced –
the number of parliamentary seats
allocated to people’s representatives
was increased from 9 to 17, though
the aristocracy retained their own 9
seats. Pohiva eventually became prime
minister in 2014 but he was arguably less
effective than as an opposition leader
and uncomfortable being at the heart of
the establishment. In 2017 King Tupou
VI exercised the royal prerogative by
dissolving parliament and calling a snap
election – only for Pohiva to be returned
with an increased majority.
Although it is fair to say that the
battle for genuine democracy in Tonga
is unfinished business, in recent years
the focus has switched to the effects of
climate change – the Tonga archipelago
is among those low-lying Pacific islands
that are under grave threat from rising
sea levels as well as from cyclones and
droughts. At the 2019 Pacific Islands
Forum summit in Tuvalu, Pohiva was
frail but impassioned on his last major
public appearance – he broke down in
tears when talking about global inaction
on climate chaos, while also condemning
the region’s decades of inaction against
the Indonesian occupation of West Papua.
Tonga is, in general, a friendly but
conservative society, with an emphasis on
Christianity and strong family networks.
Due to the ‘extended family’ structure,
almost everyone has access to food,
water and shelter – it is rare to encounter
anyone lacking these. Nevertheless, the
poverty rate in 2017 was 22 per cent.
Poverty is mainly found in the rural areas
of the outer islands and is caused by poor
access to basic goods and transport. O
TAINA KAMI ENOKA+++++Excellent
++++,Good
+++,,Fair
++,,,Poor
+,,,,AppallingNOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019 39