Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
Tongan, English
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
pa'anga (TOP) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.0277 (2006), 1.96 (2005), 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
4.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
110
Location
Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
747 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
419 km
19,924 km
Climate
tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
