Tonga is an archipelago of over 170 islands straddling the International Date Line over 800-kilometers (500 mi.) along a north-south line in the Oceania region. It is about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand and directly south of Samoa. It is east of an area called the Tonga Trench which contains some of the deepest waters of the South Pacific. There are three main island groups: Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u and 36 of the islands in these groups are inhabited. The capital city of Nuku'alofa is on the largest island, Tongatapu. The islands’ geography is of two types; in the east they are of coral formation with many small coral islands and reefs, in the west they are volcanic. Forest covers about 10% of the total land area. There are active volcanoes on four of the islands, Tofua, whose crater is filled with hot water, and Falcon is an active undersea volcano that sends up lava and ash occasionally.

Tonga’s natural resources are fish, fertile soil, its natural hazards are cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic activity. Environmental risks include deforestation due to land cleared for agriculture and settlement, overhunting of native sea turtle and damage to coral reefs from starfish and coral and shell collectors.

United into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845, Tonga is unique as the only remaining monarchy in the Pacific. The word Tonga means ‘south’. Tongan, an official language, is a Polynesian language closely related to Wallisian (Uvean), Niuean, Hawaiian and Samoan.

Tonga’s economy is a standard South Pacific island economy with a large non-monetary sector and a monetary sector largely dominated by the royal family and nobles. It is heavily dependent on external aid and remittances from its citizens living abroad. Tourism is its second largest source revenue (remittances is 1st) and it has a small manufacturing sector that helps supports exports of agricultural goods, mainly squash, vanilla beans, and yams, cassava, kava, tuna, beche de mer and seaweed. Much of the population is involved in work on plantations and subsistence agriculture.

Polynesians, together with a very small number of Melanesians, make up the largest (98%) ethnic group on Tonga; the rest are European, mixed European, other Pacific Islanders and Chinese immigrants, many of whom came on the Cash for Passports deal that helped to develop some business in Tonga. Two-thirds of the population lives on main island, Tongatapu, though village life and kinship ties continue to be important.

The Christian faith is dominant with a Sunday law that bans all commerce and entertainment Sunday from midnight. Tongans are mainly Methodists, with a number of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The social structure is broken into three tiers: the king, the nobles, and the commoners with a division yet there is a reciprocal obligation and responsibility among these groups. There is a defined status and rank in personal relationships, even within families. More than half of the country's population lives abroad, chiefly in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Television is state and privately owned. Satellite and cable services are available. There are two state-owned and three privately-owned radio stations and Radio Australia broadcasts can be obtained via satellite. The television states are state-run Television Tonga, and the privately run OBN TV7, Friendly Island Broadcasting Network. Pay TV service is provided by Tonfon TV. Radio stations are the government-operated A3Z Radio Tonga and two private stations: Radio 2000 and Radio Nuku’alofa. Newspapers include the state-owned Tonga Chronicle and New Zealand published Times of Tonga and Talak. Matangi Tonga is a fortnightly news magazine.