Tonga

Total land area	688km² ^[1] with 69 islands, 36 of which are inhabited
Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) area	700,000km² ^[1]

Population (2006 census)	101,991 ^[2]
Average annual growth rate (1996-06)	0.4% ^[2]
Population density (2006)	148/km²
Women in parliament	1 out of 32 members
Human Development Index score	0.786^[4]

The Kingdom of Tonga is a constitutional monarchy, which is unique in the Pacific. Under arrangements in place until November 2010, the governing structure comprises the King in Privy Council, the cabinet, the legislative assembly and the judiciary. The King is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. The King presides over the Privy Council, which comprises cabinet members (ministers, including the prime minister plus the governors of Ha'apai and Vava'u). The Privy Council is the highest executive authority in the kingdom. The King appoints the ministers and governors; in effect, this means appointment for life or until they receive his permission to retire or are asked to resign. The Constitution provides for a legislative assembly comprising the 16 cabinet members, nine elected representatives of the nobles (there are 33 noble titles in Tonga) and nine elected representatives of the people. Elections for the legislative assembly have been held every three years, with nobles' and peoples' representatives being elected on different days. Elections were last held in April 2008. The November 2010 elections will be held under new arrangements following a process of political reform, which has dominated politics in Tonga in recent years. On 22 July 2008, legislation was passed for the establishment of a Constitutional and Electoral Commission tasked to examine almost all aspects of political reform, including alternate electoral arrangements. Elections expected in November 2010 will see an increase in the number of parliamentarians directly elected by the Tongan people (people's representatives). A new formula was agreed by the legislative assembly in December 2009 and legislation passed in April 2010. The proposed model considerably reduces the powers of the monarch, which will devolve to the cabinet and the cabinet will be answerable to the legislative assembly. Under the new arrangements, the legislative assembly will comprise 17 people’s representatives, nine noble representatives elected by Tonga’s nobles and up to four other members appointed by the king on the advice of the prime minister of the day. Members of the elected legislative assembly will elect a prime minister, who will then be formally appointed by the king. For the first time the elected prime minister will have a constitutional mandate to govern.

Head of State	His Majesty King Siaosi Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou V (commonly known as George Tupou V) since 11 September 2006. Following the constitutional changes in November 2010, the King will remain as head of state but relinquished his executive powers, including the ability to appoint the prime minister and ministers.
Head of Government	Following the first democratic elections on 25 November 2010, Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano was elected. As opposed to the usual appointment by the King, following the constitutional and electoral reform, the prime minister is elected by parliamentary vote.
Executive	After winning the majority of the house by parliamentary vote, the prime minister then appoints cabinet members. There are currently 11 ministries (although some ministers hold a number of portfolios), including: - Justice - Finance - Health - Education, Women's Affairs and Culture - Lands, Survey and Natural Resources - Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries - Public Enterprises and Revenue - Labour, Commerce and Industries - Police, Prisons and Fire Services - Tourism - Training, Employment, Youth and Sports.
Civil Service	The public service is currently administered through 18 government ministries. The majority of governmental functions and services are centralised and provided by the national government. There is no sub national government in Tonga; however there are district and town officials’ representatives who act as an interface to the central government, whist the two outer island governors are responsible for government administration through the relevant central government agencies. The public service makes up approximately 18 per cent of the employed formal labour force. The Tongan police and defence forces are not classified as public servants, and use their own pay roll system with different classifications Public service management, roles and responsibilities are articulated in the Public Service Act 2010 and regulations. The Public Service Commission oversees the human resource management functions and assists the ministries and departments by participating in recruitment processes, reviewing of ministerial proposals for promotions, new appointments, demotions and dismissals.
Local Government	Tonga has a centralised governance structure and does not operate sub national government. All financial accountabilities reside with the Ministry of Finance and national planning. Tonga is administratively divided into three main island groups: Ha'apai, Tongatapu, and Vava’u. The two governors who are members of the Privy Council have delegated responsibilities in the overall administration and reporting of outer islands affairs. In the districts and towns, official representatives chosen by the community stationed in these islands report to the office of the prime minister. The National Strategic Planning Framework envisions a significant change in the governance structures for the outer islands through the establishment of village districts and councils with the objective to give communities a greater say in local and regional development.
Judiciary	The Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction in major civil and criminal cases. Other cases, heard in the Magistrate's Court or the Land Court, may be appealed to the Supreme Court and then to the Court of Appeal, the appellate court of last resort. The Privy Council has jurisdiction over cases on appeal from the Land Court dealing with titles of nobility and estate boundaries. The judiciary is independent of the king and the executive branch, although Supreme Court justices are appointed by the king. The king may commute a death sentence. In addition, the court system consists of a court martial for the Tonga Defence Services, a court tribunal for the police force, and a court of review for the Inland Revenue Department.
International Organisations	ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO.

Tonga's National Strategic Planning Framework (NSPF) sets the overarching development framework for the country. The NSPF sets out four key enabling themes: ␣␣ Continue progress to smaller and more efficient government to transfer resources to improved services and maintenance of resources. ␣␣ Ensure State Owned Enterprises are accountable to government and provide dividends in proportion to capital invested. ␣␣ Improve the effectiveness of revenue collection to ensure a level playing field and that services to the people can be appropriately funded. ␣␣ Ensure a more coordinated whole of government approach to donor funding. Tonga is embarking on an ambitious program of political, economic and public sector reform. Since taking the decision to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) the government has started many reforms especially on the revenue side of the budget. On the expenditure side the major challenge remains the high public sector wage bill and how to reduce the number of civil servants in the absence of a vibrant private sector. The November 2010 elections are expected to return a more representative, democratic parliament. The 2010 Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA)Public Financial Management Performance Report found Tonga’s public financial management (PFM) system to be based on a solid legal and regulatory framework to oversee the government's budgeting, spending and accountability structures. These include measures to ensure responsibility and accountability for public funds and procedures covering expenditure control and procurement. The overall impression of the PEFA assessment team was that there are clear rules and procedures in place and these tend to be followed, and that the PFM system is mostly operating at average or above average levels when compared to international best practice. Significant improvements in recent years have included attempts to shift towards multi-year budgeting, and revenue collection and enforcement, which has resulted in the level of tax arrears being identified and actively pursued using a risk management approach. There remains room for further improvements, notably in relation to improving budget credibility at the ministry/departmental/agency level by strengthening the linkages between the National Strategic Planning Framework and individual corporate plans, and less reliance on the Contingency Fund to adjust agency budgets during the course of the year. There is also scope to strengthen the transparency around financial operations of public enterprises, procurement contracts entered into by the state, and audits performed by the Audit Office. Procurement is managed by Treasury Instructions and the procedures generally ensure open competition for tendering above what are deemed to be sensible thresholds. However, the policy is not yet firmly established in regulations or legislation and procurement decisions are not publicly available.

Vision ^[5]

“To create a society in which all Tongans enjoy higher living standards and a better quality of life through good governance, equitable and environmentally sustainable private sector-led economic growth, improved education and health standards, and cultural development”.

Objectives	- Facilitate Community Development by involving district/village communities in meeting their service needs. - Support private sector growth through better engagement with government, appropriate incentives and streamlining of rules and regulations. - Facilitate continuation of Constitutional Reform. - Maintain and develop infrastructure to improve the everyday lives of the people. - Increase performance of Technical Training Vocational Education & Training to meet the challenges of maintaining and developing services and infrastructure. - Improve the health of the people by minimising the impact of Non- Communicable Diseases. - Integrate environmental sustainability and climate change into all planning and executing of programs.
Enabling Themes	- Continue progress to smaller and more efficient government to transfer resources to improved services and maintenance of resources. - Ensure State Owned Enterprises are accountable to government as owner and that they provide dividends for the benefit of the people in proportion to capital invested. - Improve the effectiveness of revenue collection to ensure a level playing field and that services to the people can be appropriately funded. - Ensure a more coordinated whole of government approach to donor funding.

Objectives

- Facilitate Community Development by involving district/village communities in meeting their service needs. - Support private sector growth through better engagement with government, appropriate incentives and streamlining of rules and regulations. - Facilitate continuation of Constitutional Reform. - Maintain and develop infrastructure to improve the everyday lives of the people. - Increase performance of Technical Training Vocational Education & Training to meet the challenges of maintaining and developing services and infrastructure. - Improve the health of the people by minimising the impact of Non- Communicable Diseases. - Integrate environmental sustainability and climate change into all planning and executing of programs.

Enabling Themes

- Continue progress to smaller and more efficient government to transfer resources to improved services and maintenance of resources. - Ensure State Owned Enterprises are accountable to government as owner and that they provide dividends for the benefit of the people in proportion to capital invested. - Improve the effectiveness of revenue collection to ensure a level playing field and that services to the people can be appropriately funded. - Ensure a more coordinated whole of government approach to donor funding.

As is the case across the Pacific islands, kinship ties are of paramount importance. The two major kin groups are famili (family) and kainga (extended family). All land is owned by the king, the nobles, and the government. Foreigners cannot own land by constitutional decree. Owners have the right to sublet land. The Constitution entitles every male citizen above the age of 16 to lease a plot of land from the government or the noble or the king. The growing population and its concentration in the capital make it increasingly difficult to exercise this right. A female is always considered higher in rank than a male, although inheritance of land and titles goes through the male line. The 1875 constitution eliminated the title of chief and introduced the title of nopele (noble), which was given to thirty-three traditional chiefs. An increasingly market-oriented economy and an expanding bureaucracy have resulted in a growing 'middle class.' The kingdom is divided into districts, each headed by a district officer. Every three years, each village elects a town officer who represents the government and holds village meetings where government regulations are made known. These meetings are open to villagers above 16 years of age to attend.

GNI per person 2007 (Atlas method USD)	2480 ^[3]
GDP current (2008 estimate)	US$276.5m ^[2]
GDP per capita (2008 estimate)	US$2,690 ^[2]

Labour market‚ Formal sector (2003)

Number of wage and salary earners	15,597 ^[2]
% of workforce	34% ^[2]
% Female	39% ^[2]
% Public sector	18% ^[2]
% Private sector	82% ^[2]

Tonga has a small economy that is heavily reliant on remittances from Tongans living and working overseas and foreign aid to fund a large current account deficit. Over recent years, Tonga has averaged approximately 200 million pa'anga (TOP) per year in remittances (A$133 million) although these have fallen by approximately 20 per cent over the last 18 months. This is likely due to the impact of the global financial crisis, which together with the civil unrest in Nuku’alofa in 2006 and administration weakness have contributed to the relatively poor performance of the economy in recent years. Revenue across all sectors declined in recent years - especially 2008-2009 - when earnings from tourism dropped by 6%, despite a 4% increase in visitor arrivals. Declines in electricity consumption, new car registrations, and imports (which fell by 10% in the first half of 2009) indicated an overall weakness in the economy. Nonperforming loans led to a deterioration of the banking and lending environment in 2008 with credit restrictions reducing business activities. Agriculture is the leading productive sector while the manufacturing sector is very small with limited export production in recent years. Tourism is modest but with potential for expansion. Tonga's main trading partners are New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, the United States and Japan. Most Tongan exports are agricultural produce while imports cover the full range of consumer and industrial goods. In 2009, Tonga's GDP was US$259 million and the economy was estimated to have contracted by 0.4 per, owing primarily to a slump in tourism activity and falling remittances. The International Monetary Fund have forecast public infrastructure spending will provide a temporary boost to economic activity in 2010/11, but caution that once those projects wind down it will be challenging to achieve growth in the 1 to 2 percent range.

The media in Tonga has limited independence.

Telephone	The Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC) is the government owned telecommunications company that provides fixed landlines, internet and mobile services (UCALL). Digicel is the local competitor that also offers these telecommunications services along with DigiTV.
Internet	84,00 users as of March 08 ^[6]. 7440 Facebook users (6.15% of population) ^[7]
Newspapers	Tonga Chronicle, Taimi 'o Tonga and Talaki are weekly newspapers. Matangi Tonga is the only online magazine although Taimi 'o Tonga has online services.
Television	The Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) is state owned and operates Television Tonga and TV Tonga 2. There are two satellite TV operators with paid services namely Sky Pacific and Digicel TV. A privately owned church TV Channel, TBN operates Free To Air.
Radio	The Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) operates two radio stations, a medium wave (AM) Radio Tonga and Kool 90 (FM). Privately owned FM stations are Broadcom FM 89.5, Radio Nuku'alofa FM 88.6, A3V 89.1 FM and the church radio FM 103.

Tonga has a national police service and a military service - the Tonga Defense Service (TDS), which includes a coastal naval unit and rural development service amongst others. The TDS functions and duties are specified in the Tonga Defense Service Act 1992, Privy Council Decision and Defence Board Decision. In Section 5, Part II of the Act the following functions and duties are specified: 'The defence of the Kingdom; the aid of civil authorities in maintenance of order in the Kingdom; the support of civil authorities; and other functions and duties that His Majesty may from time to time determine'. The TDS receives support from the government's of Australia, China, France, India, New Zealand and the United States of America. The United States military provides training to the TDS and conducts humanitarian civic action projects in Tonga. Since 2002, TDS personnel have been deployed as part of the RAMSI regional peacekeeping force in the Solomon Islands and between 2004-2008 to Iraq. In 2010 Tonga agreed to send troops to Afghanistan and the first deployment are expected to commence training in the UK in October 2010.

Current donors in Tonga are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Asian Development Bank, World Bank and the European Commission. The government recently established an Aid Coordination and Monitoring Division to harmonise the donor activities in the country. Australian assistance to Tonga in 2010–11 will primarily focus on the four priority outcome areas of the Tonga–Australia Partnership for Development:

- A More Efficient and Effective Public Sector: The Partnership will build on existing assistance for strengthening of the public sector in policy formulation and implementation, and public financial and economic management.

- Improved Health: Wide ranging support for the implementation of the Tonga Ministry of Health's corporate plans, such as reduced prevalence of non-communicable disease and primary health care to a common national standard available to all communities.

- Improved Technical and Vocational Skills: Develop opportunities to grow skills in areas of industry demand both domestically and abroad, through strengthening the management and teaching capabilities of technical and vocational education and training institutions in Tonga, and promote access to training and employment opportunities in the region.

- Develop Infrastructure: Plan and put in place transport and other infrastructure to reduce business costs and facilitate access to markets and services. Systematic approaches will be developed to the provision of infrastructure and its long term maintenance.