Overview: The economy's base is agriculture, which employs about 70% of the labor force and contributes 40% to GDP. Coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops and make up two-thirds of exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The manufacturing sector accounts for only 11% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings, but the island remains dependent on sizable external aid and remittances to offset its trade deficit. The economy continued to grow in 1993 largely because of a rise in squash exports, increased aid flows, and several large construction projects. The government is now turning its attention to further development of the private sector and the reduction of the budget deficit.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $200 million (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 4% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $2,000 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (FY92)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $36.4 million
expenditures: $68.1 million, including capital expenditures of $33.2 million (1991 est.)

Exports: $18.8 million (f.o.b., FY92 est.)
commodities: vanilla, fish, root crops, coconut oil, squash
partners: Japan 34%, US 17%, Australia 13%, NZ 13% (FY91)

Imports: $68.3 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.)
commodities: food products, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, fuels, chemicals
partners: NZ 33%, Australia 22%, US 8%, Japan 8% (FY91)

External debt: $47.5 million (FY91)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% (FY92); accounts for 11% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 6,000 kW
production: 8 million kWh
consumption per capita: 80 kWh (1990)

Industries: tourism, fishing

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; dominated by coconut, copra, and banana production; vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $16 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $258 million

Currency: 1 pa'anga (T$) = 100 seniti
Exchange rates: pa'anga (T$) per US$1 - 1.3934 (November 1993), 1.3471 (1992), 1.2961 (1991), 1.2809 (1990), 1.2637 (1989),

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Tonga on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tonga Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tonga Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.