Portal:Oceania/Daily article/25

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Royal Palace of Tonga, in Nuku'alofa.

The Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan for "south") is an archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean consisting of 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, and is divided into three main groups – Vavaʻu, Haʻapai, and Tongatapu, which together cover an 800-kilometre (500 miles)-long north–south line. Tonga is a monarchy. Criticism of the monarch is held to be antithetical to Tongan culture and etiquette.

The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located, covers 257 square kilometres (99 sq mi). The population is 112,422 (2005 est).