The Kingdom of Tonga is a sovereign state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of ocean in the South Pacific. 52 of the islands are inhabited.
The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 km in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.
The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nuku’alofa is located, covers 257 square kilometres.
Tonga is the last Polynesian monarchy. A former British protectorate, Tonga became fully independent in 1970, though it was never formally colonised. Endowed with tropical beaches, rainforest and active volcanoes, it has a growing tourist industry.
