Tonga

  TONGA

A. THE COUNTRY

Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean comprised
of 171 coral and volcanic islands, 36 being inhabited, 600 km. east of
Fiji.  Tonga is a constitutional monarchy with the king and nobles
having predominant influence.  The first elected prime minister assumed
responsibilities in 2006.  Remittances are the largest source of income,
followed by tourism.  Subsistence agriculture continues.

B. THE PEOPLE

The population is ~104,600 and official language English.
Tongans living abroad outnumber the population of Tonga itself.
~98.2% are Tongan, ~1.8% Other (mixed race, Caucasian, Chinese, other
Polynesian).

C. RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIANITY/PENTECOSTALISM

~95.76% claim to be Christian, ~3.5% Baha’i, ~0.4% Non-religious, ~0.2%
Chinese, ~0.11% Buddhist, ~0.03% Hindu.
In the Christian category:
~42.62% are Protestant, ~15.35% Catholic, ~11.37% Independent, ~1.58%
Anglican.
Evangelicals represent ~15.5% of the population.
Charismatics represent ~12% and of those ~5.5% are Pentecostals. However these statistics are questionable because
Mormons claim ~55,000 affiliates, but this includes those who retain
membership in denominations as above.  Many financial perks are on offer
for those considering the switch, as the country’s largest employers are
Mormons.

Donna Siemens

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org

Operation World, Jason Mandryk. Colorado Springs: Biblica Publishing, 2010