page_title: Geography of Tonga
section_title: Facts
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Tonga / Facts
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Nuku Island in Süden der Vavaʻu-Gruppe, Tonga English: Nuku Island in the southern part of the Vavaʻu Islands, Tonga
context_page_description: Located in Oceania, Tonga is a small archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, directly south of Samoa and about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It has 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, are divided into three main groups – Vava'u, Ha'apai, and Tongatapu – and cover an 800-kilometre-long north–south line. The total size is just 747 km². Due to the spread out islands it has the 40th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 659,558 km².
  The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located, covers 257 square kilometres. Geologically the Tongan islands are of two types: most have a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations; others consist of limestone overlaying a volcanic base.
context_section_description: Geographic coordinates: 20°S 175°W
  Area:
  total: 747 km² (288 sq mi)
  land: 717 km² (277 sq mi)
  water: 30 km² (12 sq mi)
  Coastline:
  419 km (260 mi)
  Maritime claims:
  continental shelf:
  200 m (656 ft) depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone:
  659,558 km² (254,657 sq mi) and 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
  territorial sea:
  12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
  Elevation extremes:
  lowest point:
  Pacific Ocean 0 m (0 ft)
  highest point:
  unnamed location on Kao 1,033 m (3,389 ft)
  Land use:
  arable land:
  21.33%
  permanent crops:
  14.67%
  other:
  64.00% (2011)
  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, and Ship Pollution.
  
  Natural resources are fish and fertile soil. Current environmental issues are deforestation 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; and overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations.
caption: Nuku Island Vava'u
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