Tonga

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, scattered over 700,000 km2 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 north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the west; Niue to the east; and Kermadec to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km from New Zealand's North Island. Tonga is a member of The Commonwealth.

First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people.