Demographics of Tonga
Population pyramid of Tonga in 2020
Population105,517 (2022 est.)
Growth rate-0.26% (2022 est.)
Birth rate20.31 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate4.95 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy77.53 years
 • male75.89 years
 • female79.23 years
Fertility rate2.76 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate12.41 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-18.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years32%
65 and over6.83%
Nationality
NationalityTongan
Major ethnicTongan (97%)
2005 Food and Agriculture Organization data showing the population of Tonga (in thousands) with time

Tongans, a Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the population live on its main island, Tongatapu. Although an increasing number of Tongans have moved into the only urban and commercial center, Nukuʻalofa, where European and indigenous cultural and living patterns have blended, village life and kinship ties continue to be important throughout the country. Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, and the constitution declares the Sabbath to be sacred, forever. Other important Christian denominations include Methodists (Free Wesleyan) and Roman Catholics, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Primary education between ages 6 and 14 is compulsory and free in state schools. Mission schools provide about 83% of the primary and 90% of the secondary level education. Higher education includes teacher training, nursing and medical training, a small private university, a women's business college, and a number of private agricultural schools. Most higher education is pursued overseas.

Based on 2006 estimates, the religious breakdown of the population was Protestant 64.9% (includes Free Wesleyan Church 37.3%, Free Church of Tonga 11.4%, Church of Tonga 7.2%, Tokaikolo Christian Church 2.6%, Assembly of God 2.3%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.2%, Constitutional Church of Tonga 0.9%, Anglican 0.8% and Full Gospel Church 0.2%), Latter-day Saints 18.6%, Roman Catholic 15.6%, other 1.1%, none 0.03%, unspecified 1.7%.[1]

As the 1960s ended the population growth rate fell rapidly in the country.

Population history

In the 1930s, Tonga had a population of about 32,000. Starting in the 1970s large scale migration began to Australia and New Zealand. By the 1970s the emigration rate from Tonga to Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, France and the United States was over 2% annually.[2] The country has over 100,000 residents.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1891 19,196—    
1956 56,838+196.1%
1966 77,429+36.2%
1976 90,085+16.3%
1986 94,649+5.1%
1996 97,784+3.3%
2006 101,991+4.3%
2011 103,252+1.2%
2016 100,651−2.5%
2021 100,209−0.4%
Source: [3][4]

Vital statistics

Births and deaths[5]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
1986 94,649 5.2
1996 97,784 30.3 7.5 22.8 4.1
2000 2,696 672 2,024
2001 2,546 579 1,967
2002 2,662 591 2,076
2003 2,781 617 2,164
2006 101,991 2,945 709 2,236 29.0 7.0 22.0 4.2
2011 103,252 2,896 699 2,197 28.0 6.8 21.2 3.9
2013 2,887 759 2,128
2014 2,875 939 1,936
2015 2,848 805 2,043
2016 100,651 2,632 830 1,802 24.0 5.8 18.2 3.5
2017 2,463 836 1,627
2018 2,135 835 1,300

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 30.XI.2016): [6]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 50 255 50 396 100 651 100
0–4 6 440 6 059 12 499 12.42
5–9 6 417 5 736 12 153 12.07
10–14 6 139 5 743 11 882 11.81
15–19 5 449 5 053 10 502 10.43
20–24 4 106 4 128 8 234 8.18
25–29 3 162 3 467 6 629 6.59
30–34 2 994 3 527 6 521 6.48
35–39 2 704 2 941 5 645 5.61
40–44 2 473 2 716 5 189 5.16
45–49 2 600 2 581 5 181 5.15
50–54 2 129 2 021 4 150 4.12
55–59 1 571 1 683 3 254 3.23
60–64 1 297 1 399 2 696 2.68
65-69 968 1 062 2 030 2.02
70-74 735 866 1 601 1.59
75-79 575 675 1 250 1.24
80-84 315 410 725 0.72
85-89 127 231 358 0.36
90-94 25 74 99 0.10
95-99 5 5 10 0.01
100+ 1 1 2 <0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 18 996 17 538 36 534 36.30
15–64 28 485 29 516 58 001 57.63
65+ 2 751 3 324 6 075 6.04
unknown 23 18 41 0.04

Diaspora

There are over 150,000 people of Tongan descent living outside of Tonga, mostly in New Zealand, the United States, and Australia.

Oceania

82,389 New Zealanders identified themselves as being of Tongan ethnicity with 22,413 stating that they were born in Tonga. As of 2016, Tongan New Zealanders make up 1.2% of New Zealand's population of approximately 5 million people.[7]

There is a Tongan Australian population of 32,691 people, which is over 0.1% of Australia's population. 60% of Tongan people live in New South Wales.

United States

In the U.S., Tongan Americans constitute a small 0.02% of the U.S. population, with over 67,000 people recorded having Tongan ancestry in the country as of 2020.

California

Much of the U.S. Tongan community resides in California. In San Mateo County (0.7% of the county's population) in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are over 5,000 Tongan Americans, mainly concentrated in Daly City, East Palo Alto, San Mateo, and San Bruno. There is a Tongan community in Oakland, of about 1,500 people (0.3% of Oakland's population). There is a Tongan population in Los Angeles County, mainly in Inglewood (0.7% of the city's population), Hawthorne, and Long Beach. There are also around 1,000 Tongans in Sacramento and more throughout the Sacramento Valley.

Utah

There is a sizable Tongan community in Utah, mainly in the Salt Lake Valley. Salt Lake County has over 8,000 residents of Tongan ancestry. The Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City has one of the highest concentrations of Tongans in the area.

Texas

Euless, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has a significant Tongan community, with more than 1,000 residents.

Oregon

Portland, Oregon has 500 Tongan individuals, with its metropolitan area having several hundred more in addition.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Tonga page from CIA factbook". 2 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Migration Policy Institute article on Tonga". February 2004.
  3. ↑ "Population Statistics | Tonga Statistics Department".
  4. ↑ "Tonga's population drops to 100,209". Matangi Tonga Online. 24 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Population and Housing Census | Tonga Statistics Department".
  6. ↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  7. ↑ "Tongans: Facts and Figures". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Portland's Fastest Ethnic Group Struggles to Be Counted". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
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