A group of more than 170 islands spread over an area of the South Pacific roughly the size of Japan, Tonga is the last Polynesian monarchy. A deeply conservative, Christian country, Tonga voted in its first popularly elected parliament in 2010, ending 165 years of feudal rule. In 2015, the country elected its first non-noble prime minister. A former British protectorate, Tonga became fully independent in 1970, though it was never formally colonised.
Tonga has no strategic or mineral resources and relies on agriculture, fishing and the money sent home by Tongans living abroad, many of them in New Zealand. Unemployment is high, particularly among the young (BBC, 2018).
Funding opportunities
Related articles
Chemical Engineer Noël N’guessan has won the 2021 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. A prize founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and supported by the Global Challenges Research...
University press offices provide helpful and supportive services to academics across the UK, helping to communicate your research to the world. We spoke to the press officers at Queens University...
Preparing for a pandemic saves lives. For pandemic preparedness the necessary equipment, expertise, collaboration networks, and infrastructure needs to be established during non-pandemic years. This...
Global Challenges Research Fund
We help UK and international researchers and innovators address the key issues affecting developing countries.
Newton Fund
We build research and innovation partnerships with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to support social and economic welfare, tackle global challenges and develop talent and careers.