Tonga Population and Housing Census 2016

The census date was midnight, the 30th of November 2016. It is the official count of population, dwellings and households in Tonga and it provides a ‘snapshot’ of the country at one specific point in time: 30th of November 2016. Since 1956 until 2006, Census has been taken once in every ten years.

The Population and Housing Census (PHC) provides a unique source of detailed demographic, social and economic data relating the entire population and its most precious resource of its people. This information is used for policy making and planning, monitoring and evaluation, research and other decision-making.

The PHC is often the primary source of information such as used for allocation of public funding, especially in areas such as health, education and social policy. The main users of this information are the government, local authorities, education facilities (such as schools and tertiary organizations), businesses, community organizations and the public in general.

The population census 2016 was the second population census by 5 years interval after the previous census in 2011. This was requested by the Electoral Boundary Commission (EBC) according to its Act 2010, Section 21(1) which states that:
(1) To facilitate the second determination of boundaries under this Act, the Minister responsible for the administration of the Statistics Act shall cause a general population census to be carried out before the next General Election.
(2) The Government Statistician shall certify and provide to the Commission such Information, calculations and projections that the Commission may enable it to perform its functions under this Act.

Government Approval

The Statistics Department first sought the Minister of Finance’s approval to conduct this census. Once, this approval was received, the census proposal was prepared. The proposal was submitted to the Minister of Finance for endorsement to the Cabinet with the recommendation “That the Statistics Department conduct the Tonga Population Census and Housing on 30th November 2016(census date), and Ministry of Finance and National Planning assist with obtaining of necessary funding for the census be approved.”

Version 01: edited data of the de-identified dataset.

Geographical ID
Dwelling Type
Household Roster
Population Characteristics
Functioning, Social Behaviour & Illness
Education, Languages And Literacy
Economic Activities Last Week
Fertility And Mortality
Communications And Internet
Housing
Agriculture And Fishing
Visitors
GPS + Photo

* Collection start: 2016
* Collection end: 2016