Tongan People
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Tongans Tongans or Tongan people are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Tonga, a Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Tongans represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed Europe ...
, a Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. The rest are European (the majority are
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the population live on its main island,
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% o ...
. Although an increasing number of Tongans have moved into the only urban and commercial center, Nukualofa, 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
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
n traditions and especially by the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, and the constitution declares the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
to be sacred, forever. Other important Christian denominations include Methodists (Free Wesleyan) and
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, and
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. 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 2021 estimates, the religious breakdown of the population was Protestant 63.9% (includes Free Wesleyan Church 34.2%, Free Church of Tonga 11.3%, Church of Tonga 6.8%, Tokaikolo Christian Church 1.5%, Assembly of God 2.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 2.5%, Constitutional Church of Tonga 1.2%, and other Protestant 4%), Latter-day Saints 19.7%, Roman Catholic 13.7%, other 2.1%, none 0.6%, unspecified 0.1%. As the 1960s ended the population growth rate fell rapidly in the country.


Population

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. The country has over 100,000 residents.


Structure of the population


Vital statistics


Registered births and deaths


Migration


Emigration

There are over 150,000 people of Tongan descent living outside of Tonga, mostly in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.


Oceania

82,389
New Zealanders New Zealanders are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common History of New Zealand, history, Culture of New Zealand, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of Ne ...
identified themselves as being of Tongan ethnicity with 22,413 stating that they were born in
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. As of 2016, Tongan New Zealanders make up 1.2% of New Zealand's population of approximately 5 million people. There is a
Tongan Australian Tongan Australians () are Australians who are of ethnic Tongan descent or Tongans who hold Australian citizenship. Background According to the 2011 Australian census 10,560 Australians were born in Tonga, while 25,096 claimed Tongan ancestry. ...
population of 32,691 people, which is over 0.1% of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's population. 60% of Tongan people live in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
.


United States

In the U.S.,
Tongan American Tongan Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to Tonga, officially known as the Kingdom of Tonga. There are approximately 57,000 Tongan Americans living in the United States, as of 2012. Tongans are considered to be Pacific Islande ...
s 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. Much of the U.S. Tongan community resides in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In
San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...
(0.7% of the county's population) in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, there are over 5,000 Tongan Americans, mainly concentrated in
Daly City Daly City () is the second-most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its northern border with almost all of San Francisco's southern ...
,
East Palo Alto East Palo Alto ( ; abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cit ...
, San Mateo, and
San Bruno San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco Internat ...
. 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 Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
, mainly in
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...
(0.7% of the city's population),
Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...
, and
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. There are also around 1,000 Tongans in Sacramento and more throughout the Sacramento Valle

There is a sizable Tongan community in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, mainly in the
Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...
. Salt Lake County has over 8,000 residents of Tongan ancestry. The Glendale neighborhood of
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
has one of the highest concentrations of Tongans in the area.
Euless, Texas Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of the city in ...
, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has a significant Tongan community, with more than 1,000 residents.
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
has 500 Tongan individuals, with its metropolitan area having several hundred more in addition.


References

{{Culture of Oceania, state=autocollapse Society of Tonga