Nukuʻalofa (/ˌnuːkuəˈloʊfə/ NOO-koo-ə-LOH-fə, Tongan: [nukuʔaˈlofa]) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group.
Nukuʻalofa (/ˌnuːkuəˈloʊfə/ NOO-koo-ə-LOH-fə, Tongan: [nukuʔaˈlofa]) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group.
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the national population, on 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). Tongatapu is Tonga's centre of government and the seat of its monarchy.
Tongatapu has experienced more rapid economic development than the other islands of Tonga, and has thus attracted many internal migrants from them.
Tongans or Tongan people are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Tonga, a Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
Tongans represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the population live on its main island, Tongatapu. Although an increasing number of Tongans have moved into the only urban and commercial center, Nukuʻalofa, where European and Indigenous cultural and living patterns have blended, village life and kinship ties continue to be important throughout the country. Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, and the constitution declares the Sabbath to be sacred, forever. Other important Christian denominations include Methodists (Free Wesleyan) and Catholics, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.