World Factbook
Tonga
Pule'anga Fakatu'i 'o Tonga
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
83.8% (2019 est.)
female
97.6% (2019 est.)
total population
91.1% (2019 est.)
Languages
Tongan only 85%, Tongan and other language 13.9%, Tongan not used at home 1.1% (2021 est.)
note: data represent language use at home of persons aged 5 and older
Religions
Protestant 63.9% (Free Wesleyan Church 34.2%, Free Church of Tonga 11.3%, Church of Tonga 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.5%, Assembly of God 2.5%, Tokaikolo/Maamafo'ou 1.5%, Constitutional Church of Tonga 1.2%, other Protestant 4%), Church of Jesus Christ 19.7%, Roman Catholic 13.7%, other 2.1%, none 0.6%, no answer 0.1% (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.02 male(s)/female
total population
1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.83 male(s)/female
Birth rate
19.43 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
25.4 years
total
26.4 years (2025 est.)
female
26.4 years
Population
male
52,421
total
104,519 (2025 est.)
female
52,098
Nationality
noun
Tongan(s)
adjective
Tongan
Tobacco use
male
46.1% (2025 est.)
total
30.5% (2025 est.)
female
15.8% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
23.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
29.3% (male 15,627/female 15,142)
15-64 years
63.2% (male 33,445/female 32,867)
65 years and over
7.4% (2024 est.) (male 3,534/female 4,274)
Ethnic groups
Tongan 96.5%, other (European, Fijian, Samoan, Indian, Chinese, other Pacific Islander, other Asian, other) 3.5% (2021 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.8% (2019)
women married by age 15
0.4% (2019)
women married by age 18
10.1% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
57.2 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
45.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
8.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
11.9 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.01 physicians/1,000 population (2021)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.3% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
8.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-18.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.59 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 98.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.3% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
9.3% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
12.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total
11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
10.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.37% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.28 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
over two thirds of the population lives on the island of Tongatapu; only 45 of the nation's 171 islands are occupied
Life expectancy at birth
male
76.4 years
female
79.7 years
total population
78 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 99.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
23,000 NUKU'ALOFA (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
48.2% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
24.9 years (2012 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
50.7% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.8% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
16 years (2020 est.)
total
18 years (2020 est.)
female
19 years (2020 est.)