8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Oceania / Polynesia

Born in Tonga

About 1 in 55,046 people born in 2023 started life in Tonga. A boy can expect to live 69 years and a girl 76, up from 45 and 52 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 55,046
odds of being born here
2,400 births · Ranked 193rd of 230
69 / 76
years of life, boys / girls
Was 45 / 52 in 1950
$4,666
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 128th of 203 · extrapolated
21%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 24 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 170 in every 1,000 births to 11.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth69.4 years for boys, 76.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 510.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year1,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.0World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles99%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year8 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.7 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.1.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.13UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 37 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
9%Poorest fifth
14%Second
18%Middle
23%Fourth
37%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $4,666 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth37% / 9% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.7% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises6.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.2% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming25% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed42% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment92% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Nuku‘alofa, with 22,400 people.

21%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
99%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Nuku‘alofa22,400
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Tongan95%
English28%
Tongan, English is official.

People on the move

About 51% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are New Zealand, Australia, Fiji.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
New Zealand29,981
Australia19,464
Fiji1,389
Residents born abroad3.4% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 51.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNew Zealand (29,981), Australia (19,464), Fiji (1,389)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $267.1 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202412Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501NOAA NCEI

Now live it.

Born in Tonga, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Tonga

Elsewhere in Oceania

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences