'''Tonga''' (, ), officially named the '''Kingdom of Tonga''' (), is a Polynesian country, and also an archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The archipelago's total surface area is about  scattered over  of the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, Tonga had a population of 104,494, 70% of whom resided on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches across approximately  in a north–south line. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about  from New Zealand's North Island.