Top ten facts about Tonga

Top ten things you didn't know about Tonga

November 4 is National Tonga Day (formerly known as Constitution Day) celebrating November 4, 1875 when the constitution of the nation of Tonga was adopted.

 

1. Tonga is a South Pacific kingdom comprising more than 170 islands of which 52 are inhabited. 

2. In 2003, Tonga sued the King’s official court jester who was also his financial adviser. 

3. The capital of Tonga is Nuku’alofa which, according to an old legend, means “abode of love”. 

 

Tonga is a South Pacific kingdom comprising more than 170 islands of which 52 are inhabited.

 



Tonga became known as the Friendly Islands for the reception given to Captain James Cook in 1773.



4. Nuku’alofa, N’Djamena (the capital of Chad), Sana’a (Yemen), St John’s (Antigua and Barbuda) and St George’s (Grenada) are the only capitals with apostrophes in their names.

5. Actually the punctuation mark in Nuku’alofa is more a glottal stop than an apostrophe. 

6. Tonga became known as the Friendly Islands for the reception given to Captain James Cook in 1773. 

7. According to another account, the chiefs in Tonga wanted to kill Cook but could not agree on how to do it. 

 

Tonga’s only Olympic medal, a silver, was won by superheavyweight boxer Paea Wolfgramm in 1996.

8. According to the Church of Latter Day Saints, Tonga has the highest proportion of Mormons of any country in the world. 

9. Ninety per cent of the population of Tonga are overweight; 70 per cent of adult women are obese. 

10. Tonga’s only Olympic medal, a silver, was won by superheavyweight boxer Paea Wolfgramm in 1996.