Officially name: The Kingdom of Tonga
Capital: Nukuʻalofa
Largest city: Nukuʻalofa
Official language: Tongan, English
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Located in Oceania, Tonga is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, directly south of Western Samoa and about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. Its 176 islands, 36 of them inhabited, are divided into three main groups – Vava'u, Ha'apai, and Tongatapu – and cover an 800-kilometre (500-mile)-long north-south line.
On the fourth of July, the Tongans celebrate the King's birthday with the week long Heilala Festival. It coincides with the flowering of the Heilala, Tonga's national flower.