Population growth in Tonga
Tonga: Population growth was -0.4% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Population growth in Tonga, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population growth in Tonga is -0.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.0% on the previous year and up 13.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Tonga peaked at 2.8% in 1961 and was at its lowest, -0.5%, in 2016.
Tonga ranks 195th of 218 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Population growth in Tonga, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.8% | — |
| 1962 | 2.8% | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 2.7% | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 2.7% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 2.7% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| 1967 | 2.3% | -15.0% |
| 1968 | 1.9% | -16.8% |
| 1969 | 1.9% | -2.3% |
| 1970 | 1.8% | -2.8% |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -3.1% |
| 1972 | 1.7% | -4.0% |
| 1973 | 1.6% | -2.4% |
| 1974 | 2.1% | +27.2% |
| 1975 | 2.5% | +21.4% |
| 1976 | 2.5% | -3.6% |
| 1977 | 1.5% | -40.5% |
| 1978 | 0.5% | -66.1% |
| 1979 | 0.3% | -29.3% |
| 1980 | 0.2% | -34.0% |
| 1981 | 0.1% | -37.9% |
| 1982 | 0.1% | -49.3% |
| 1983 | 0.0% | -74.7% |
| 1984 | -0.0% | -144.4% |
| 1985 | -0.0% | -25.0% |
| 1986 | 0.0% | -533.3% |
| 1987 | 0.4% | +1304.9% |
| 1988 | 0.6% | +61.2% |
| 1989 | 0.4% | -27.2% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -31.8% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -34.5% |
| 1992 | 0.1% | -35.0% |
| 1993 | 0.1% | -36.3% |
| 1994 | 0.1% | -22.3% |
| 1995 | 0.1% | -6.4% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -15.3% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +696.2% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | +78.0% |
| 1999 | 0.6% | -8.5% |
| 2000 | 0.6% | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -19.1% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | -38.1% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | -37.9% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | +7.5% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | -13.9% |
| 2012 | -0.1% | -164.7% |
| 2013 | -0.4% | +248.1% |
| 2014 | -0.4% | +23.3% |
| 2015 | -0.5% | +10.1% |
| 2016 | -0.5% | +11.7% |
| 2017 | -0.2% | -70.5% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -225.6% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -51.7% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -65.7% |
| 2021 | -0.2% | -711.9% |
| 2022 | -0.4% | +110.0% |
| 2023 | -0.4% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | -0.4% | -4.8% |
| 2025 | -0.4% | +3.0% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's -0.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5%. (59 countries reporting)
- Tonga's -0.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.6%. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Tonga changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | +1304.9% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2021 | -711.9% | 0.0% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | +696.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 1986 | +533.3% | -0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | -248.1% | -0.1% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | +225.6% | -0.2% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 0.3% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2% | -0.0% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.1% | -0.5% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.3% | -0.4% | 0.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More climate change data for Tonga
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 0 kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 138.67 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 28.3 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 110.37 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.1068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3.94 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 0 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Tonga?
- Population growth in Tonga was -0.4% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 1961.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.5% in 2016.
- How does Tonga rank for population growth?
- Tonga ranks 195th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tonga data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.