Polynesia · TON
Tonga
The story · 8 chapters
How it was drawn
An ancient Polynesian kingdom, united by one ruler in the nineteenth century, Tonga was never colonised and kept its monarchy and its borders.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Tonga fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Peruvian slave traders1862 to 1863
In 1863 a slave ship from Peru carries off many of the people of 'Ata, a small island south of Tongatapu. King George Tupou I then moves the remaining islanders to 'Eua, and 'Ata stays uninhabited.
- German Empire1876 to 1899
Germany signs a treaty of friendship with Tonga in 1876 and gains rights to a naval station in Vava'u. In 1899 it gives up its claims in Tonga to Britain as part of the deal that gives it western Samoa.
- Empire of Japan1942 to 1945
In the Second World War Tonga sides with Britain. Tongan soldiers serve alongside Fijian units against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands, and American and New Zealand forces use Tongatapu as a base.
In 1972 Tonga claims the Minerva Reefs, two submerged atolls southwest of its islands, and builds markers on them. Fiji also claims the reefs. The dispute flared again in 2011 and remains unresolved.
Today
Tonga now
C. D. 950, and by 1200, the Tu’i Tonga had expanded his influence throughout Polynesia and into Melanesia and Micronesia. The Tongan Empire began to decline in the 1300s, with civil wars, a military defeat to Samoa, and internal political strife. By the mid-1500s, some Tu’i Tongans were ethnic Samoan, and day-to-day administration of Tonga was transferred to a new position occupied by ethnic Tongans.
- Capital
- Nukuʻalofa
- Government
- constitutional monarchy
- Head of government
- Fatafehi Fakafānua, 8th Lord Fakafānua
- Head of state
- Tupou VI of Tonga
- Languages
- Tongan, English
- Area
- 749 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population104,6002023 · 49,700 in 1950
- Life expectancy72.9 years2023 · 48.4 years in 1950
- Living in cities21%2025 · 13% in 1950
- Literacy100%2023 · 93% in 1950
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- Australia
- New Zealand
- United States
- Switzerland
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.