page_title: Outline of Tonga
section_title: General reference
hierarchical_section_title: Outline of Tonga / General reference
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Tonga, showing major islands and island groups.
context_page_description: The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tonga:
  Tonga is a sovereign island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. Tonga comprises the Tonga Archipelago of 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line. The islands lie south of Samoa and are about one-third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii.
  Tonga is the only surviving monarchy among the island nations of the Pacific Ocean, as well as being the only island nation never to have been formally colonized.
  The islands are also known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain Cook on his first visit in 1773. He happened to arrive at the time of the ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tu'i Tonga, the islands' paramount chief, and was invited to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but had been unable to agree on a plan.
context_section_description: Pronunciation:
  Common English country name:  Tonga
  Official English country name:  The Kingdom of Tonga
  Common endonym(s): Tonga  
  Official endonym(s): Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga  
  Adjectival(s): Tongan
  Demonym(s): Tongan
  Etymology: Name of Tonga
  ISO country codes:  TO, TON, 776
  ISO region codes:  See ISO 3166-2:TO
  Internet country code top-level domain:  .to
caption: An enlargeable basic map of Tonga
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