Tonga

Location	Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates	20 00 S, 175 00 W
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: 747 sq km land: 717 sq km water: 30 sq km
Area - comparative	four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	419 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate	tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
Terrain	most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed elevation on Kao Island 1,033 m
Natural resources	fish, fertile soil
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 14.67% other: 65.33% (2005)
Irrigated land	NA
Natural hazards	cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou volcanism: moderate volcanic activity; Fonualei (elev. 180 m) has shown frequent activity in recent years, while Niuafo'ou (elev. 260 m), which last erupted in 1985, has forced evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Late and Tofua
Environment - current issues	deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited)