The latest market, economy, central-bank, policy and company stories from Tonga, updated every 15 minutes. Last updated 19 October 2026.
| GDP growth (2025) | 2.8% | Moderate growth. |
| Inflation (2025) | 5.6% | Above the usual central-bank targets. |
| Unemployment (2025) | 2.0% | Low: the job market is tight. |
| GDP per person (2025) | $6,547 | Average output per person: a rough measure of how wealthy a country is. |
| Current account (2024) | -6.7% of GDP | Deficit: spends more abroad than it earns, so it relies on foreign money. |
| Exports (2024) | 16.9% of GDP | Driven mostly by its home market. |
Latest official annual figures from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). Context, not a forecast or financial advice.
A Tongan candidate whose New Zealand political party has proposed an unusual immigration policy offering Pacific overstayers a pathway to legal status has addressed members of the Moʻui Foʻou Church in South Auckland as she campaigns for the Māngere electorate ahead of next month’s general election.
Alvin Lafu Sika, the younger brother of former Cabinet minister Semisi Sika, has won the Tongatapu 2 parliamentary by-election, reclaiming the seat vacated after a Supreme Court ruling found his elder brother had breached Tonga’s electoral spending laws.
Two relatives of former Tongan Cabinet ministers unseated over electoral offences have won the parliamentary by-elections for Tongatapu 2 and ʻOngo Niua 17, returning both seats to the families of the politicians removed from Parliament.
Nuku'alofa, Tonga PUBLIC NOTICE The Tonga Energy Commission has approved a revised electricity tariff of 115.49 seniti per kilowatt-hour for the October to December 2026 quarter, effective 1 October. This is an increase of 3.92 seniti, or 3.51% per cent, from the July to September tariff rate of 111.57 seniti.
Nuku'alofa, Tonga PUBLIC NOTICE The Tonga Energy Commission has approved a revised electricity tariff of 115.49 seniti per kilowatt-hour for the October to December 2026 quarter, effective 1 October. This is an increase of 3.92 seniti, or 3.51% per cent, from the July to September tariff rate of 111.57 seniti.