Photo: Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 13 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Tonga: Food & Agriculture
What does a country grow, and what does it take to grow it?
Tonga is placed 169th of 184 countries on food & agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) 2.14 (2024); Agriculture Orientation Index 0.17 (2024).
Share
Food & Agriculture
169th
of 184 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
- 2.14Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy), 2024Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators
- —Cereal Yield, 2023No reading for this country
- —Dietary Energy Supply, 2024No reading for this country
- 0.17Agriculture Orientation Index, 2024Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Tonga on food & agriculture — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
2.14
Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators
Higher is better
Tonga: 2.14. Across the 186 countries in this edition, values run from 1.67 (Tuvalu) to 4.57 (Italy); the world median is 3.14.
- World median
- 3.14
- Best in Polynesia
- 2.14 Tonga
Key 2 of 4
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2023 figure for Tonga, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
Key 3 of 4
Dietary Energy Supply
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Tonga, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.
- World median
- 2,982
- Best in Polynesia
- 3,216 Samoa
Key 4 of 4
Agriculture Orientation Index
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
0.17
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
Higher is better
Tonga: 0.17. Across the 132 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Ghana) to 5.38 (Singapore); the world median is 0.305.
- World median
- 0.305
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.24 Samoa
02Over time
Which way Tonga is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy)
Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators · higher is better
TongaWorld median
Tonga was at 2.14 in both 2015 and 2024; the world median went from 3.14 to 3.14.
Every year’s figures
Year Tonga World median 2024 2 3.1 2023 2 3.1 2022 2 3.2 2021 2 3.1 2020 2 3.1 2019 2 3.1 2018 2 3.2 2017 2 3.1 2016 2 3.1 2015 2 3.1 Agriculture Orientation Index
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) · higher is better
TongaWorld median
Tonga fell from 0.35 in 2010 to 0.17 in 2024; the world median went from 0.32 to 0.305.
Every year’s figures
Year Tonga World median 2024 0.17 0.305 2023 0.18 0.305 2022 0.23 0.290 2021 0.21 0.260 2020 0.20 0.255 2019 0.20 0.265 2018 0.27 0.270 2017 0.25 0.260 2016 0.28 0.285 2015 0.19 0.305 2014 0.20 0.300 2013 0.19 0.285 2012 0.17 0.330 2011 0.15 0.290 2010 0.35 0.320 2009 — 0.370 2008 — 0.390 2007 — 0.410 2006 — 0.355 2005 — 0.325 2004 — 0.320 2003 — 0.320 2002 — 0.340 2001 — 0.360
03In context
Tonga beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 184 countries on food & agriculture, never a place within the region.
Tonga and Polynesia
Tonga has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. Standing among all 184; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy)Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) | Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) | Agriculture Orientation IndexAgriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Samoa | 128th | 2 | — | 3,216 | 0.24 |
| Tonga | 169th | 2.14 | — | — | 0.17 |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Cook Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Tuvalu | not placed | 1.67 | — | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 184.
Placed either side on food & agriculture
The countries immediately above and below Tonga in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Tonga is ahead of the world, and behind
19 more statistics filed under food & agriculture, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median4
Statistics on which Tonga does better than the middle country measured.
Vegetable Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 102.69261.75102.69▲ Improved since 2019
Tonga: 261.75 · world median 102.69 · Vegetables available as food (kg per person per year). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 6.89 to 412.72; higher is better.
Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and TubersFAO · 2022 · world median 413341▲ Improved since 2020
Tonga: 33 · world median 41 · Share of dietary energy supply from cereals, roots and tubers (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 21 to 82; lower is better.
Fruit Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 84.8397.1384.83▲ Improved since 2019
Tonga: 97.13 · world median 84.83 · Fruit available as food, excluding wine (kg per person per year). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 4.27 to 379.63; higher is better.
Organic Agricultural AreaFAO · 2024 · world median 0.7250.920.725▼ Worsened since 2014
Tonga: 0.92 · world median 0.725 · Organic share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 86.38; higher is better.
Position 70th of 150 · derived.
Behind the world median4
Statistics on which Tonga does worse than the middle country measured.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.06100.86107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
Tonga: 100.86 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 133rd of 194 · derived.
Agricultural Emissions IntensityFAO · 2023 · world median 1.5652.311.565▼ Worsened since 2013
Tonga: 2.31 · world median 1.565 · Greenhouse gases from farming per value of agricultural output (kg CO₂eq per international dollar). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 28.2; lower is better.
Position 60th of 190 · derived, 1st = worst.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.2397.18106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Tonga: 97.18 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 144th of 195 · derived.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.0897.78106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Tonga: 97.78 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 155th of 195 · derived.
No better end11
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Meat Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 57.83156.9557.83No real change since 2019
Tonga: 156.95 · world median 57.83 · Meat available as food (kg per person per year, carcass weight). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 3.49 to 156.95.
Fish and Seafood Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 16.1728.5816.17Moved since 2019
Tonga: 28.58 · world median 16.17 · Fish and seafood available as food (kg per person per year, live-weight equivalent). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.38 to 83.81.
Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5351.050.535No real change since 2013
Tonga: 1.05 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 47th of 188 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.1910.109Moved since 2013
Tonga: 0.191 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 62nd of 206 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.9648.6137.96Moved since 2013
Tonga: 48.61 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 65th of 209 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.3823.6114.38Moved since 2015
Tonga: 23.61 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 73rd of 182 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.730.651.73No real change since 2014
Tonga: 0.65 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 136th of 178 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,63583.858,635No real change since 2013
Tonga: 83.85 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.
Position 171st of 193 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Fisheries and Aquaculture ProductionFAO · 2024 · world median 52,3751,12252,375Moved since 2014
Tonga: 1,122 · world median 52,375 · Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals caught or farmed, tonnes (live weight). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 70,500,841.
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.364.5587.36Moved since 2013
Tonga: 4.55 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 172nd of 188 · derived, counted from the highest value.
Cropland Nitrogen BalanceFAO · 2023 · world median 37.63-11.0237.63Moved since 2013
Tonga: -11.02 · world median 37.63 · Nitrogen surplus (+) or deficit (−) on cropland, kg per hectare. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from -555.52 to 1,199.
No current reading for Tonga
Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2024), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added per Worker (last 2024), Cereal Import Dependency Ratio (last 2021), Cereal Yield, Dietary Energy Supply, Global Report on Food Crises, Land Under Cereal Production, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Per Capita Food Supply Variability, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity (last 2022), Prevalence of Undernourishment, Water Withdrawal by Sector and Women's Share of Agricultural Landowners. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing
05Country Index 2026
Food & Agriculture among Tonga’s 15 topics
Food & Agriculture is Tonga’s 15th best-placed topic of 15. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.
- Poverty & Inequality15th of 1592/3 keys
- Mobility & Tradejoint 55th of 1772/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing64th of 2003/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties77th of 1983/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge90th of 1983/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability95th of 1863/4 keys
- Gender & Equality94th of 1832/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 103rd of 1824/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience113th of 1933/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital115th of 1963/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions124th of 1942/4 keys
- Energy120th of 1652/3 keys
- Digital & Technology159th of 1983/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation146th of 1762/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture169th of 1842/4 keys
No standing on Peace & Security: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on food & agriculture
The three countries placed highest of 184, and the leaders Tonga can most readily be measured against.
1
SerbiaSouthern Europe
1st of 184 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Lošmi derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
AustriaWestern Europe
2nd of 184 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
3
MaltaSouthern Europe
3rd of 184 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: Dirk Heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Oceania
Australia54th4/4 keysHighest in Polynesia
Samoa128th3/4 keysThis page
Tonga169th2/4 keys
Positions out of 184 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Tonga on food & agriculture: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Tonga rank on food & agriculture?
Tonga is placed 169th of 184 countries on Food & Agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) and Agriculture Orientation Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) figure for Tonga?
2.14 in 2024 (current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3.14.
What is the latest Agriculture Orientation Index figure for Tonga?
0.17 in 2024 (agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 0.305.
How have Tonga’s food & agriculture figures changed?
Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) was 2.14 in both 2015 and 2024; Agriculture Orientation Index fell from 0.35 in 2010 to 0.17 in 2024.
Which food & agriculture statistics are missing for Tonga?
No current reading is published for Tonga on Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added per Worker, Cereal Import Dependency Ratio, Cereal Yield, Dietary Energy Supply, Global Report on Food Crises, Land Under Cereal Production, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Per Capita Food Supply Variability, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, Prevalence of Undernourishment, Water Withdrawal by Sector and Women's Share of Agricultural Landowners. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
This subject is about production and land use, not about whether people are fed. Hunger, undernourishment and what a population actually eats are measured under Health & Wellbeing, and the two regularly disagree — a country can grow a great deal and still leave many people short, and one that grows little can be well fed by trade. The wider environmental cost of farming — emissions, water withdrawal, forest cover — is filed under Environment & Sustainability.
How the Food & Agriculture standing is decided
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 4 keys to be placed.
The food & agriculture method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Dietary Energy Supply — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Agriculture Orientation Index — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 19 statistics on this page come from 2 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Tonga’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Tonga (banner) — Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Serbia — Lošmi derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Malta — Dirk Heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Tonga: Food & Agriculture — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/tonga/food