Photo: Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 08 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Tonga: Gender & Equality
How wide is the gap between women's and men's lives?
Tonga is placed 94th of 183 countries on gender & equality in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Women, Business and the Law 61.25 (2025); Firms with a Female Top Manager 30.18 (2025).
Share
Gender & Equality
94th
of 183 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
- 61.25Women, Business and the Law, 2025WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)
- —Women's Political Empowerment Index, 2025No reading for this country
- 30.18Firms with a Female Top Manager, 2025Firms with a female top manager (%)
- —Social Institutions and Gender Index, 2023No reading for this country
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Tonga on gender & equality — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
61.25
WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)
Higher is better
Tonga: 61.25. Across the 190 countries in this edition, values run from 3.125 (Afghanistan) to 100 (Sweden); the world median is 81.25.
- World median
- 81.25
- Best in Polynesia
- 75 Samoa
Key 2 of 4
Women's Political Empowerment Index
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Women's political empowerment index (0–1)
Higher is better
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg publishes no 2025 figure for Tonga, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from 0.028 (Afghanistan) to 0.954 (Denmark); the world median is 0.772.
- World median
- 0.772
Key 3 of 4
Firms with a Female Top Manager
World Bank Group
Latest reading per country, 2016–2025 · Tonga’s is from 2024 · CC BY 4.0
30.18
Firms with a female top manager (%)
Higher is better
Tonga: 30.18. Across the 179 countries at their latest reading, values run from 1.429 (Qatar) to 62.9 (Kiribati); the world median is 19.16.
- World median
- 19.16
- Best in Polynesia
- 47.98 Samoa
Key 4 of 4
Social Institutions and Gender Index
OECD
2023 edition · data for 2023 · OECD Terms and Conditions — data clause
No reading
SIGI score (0 = no discrimination, 100 = absolute)
Lower is better
OECD publishes no 2023 figure for Tonga, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 140 countries in this edition, values run from 6.7 (Norway) to 67.4 (Mauritania); the world median is 25.2.
- World median
- 25.2
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.
Women, Business and the Law
WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity) · higher is better
TongaWorld median
Tonga rose from 50 in 2000 to 61.25 in 2025; the world median went from 63.13 to 81.25.
Every year’s figures
Year Tonga World median 2025 61 81.3 2023 59 81.3 2022 59 80.3 2021 59 80.0 2020 59 79.7 2019 59 78.8 2018 59 77.5 2017 59 77.5 2016 59 76.9 2015 59 75.9 2014 59 75.6 2013 56 75.0 2012 56 73.8 2011 56 73.1 2010 50 73.1 2009 50 72.5 2008 50 71.3 2007 50 69.7 2006 50 68.8 2005 50 67.2 2004 50 66.9 2003 50 64.7 2002 50 63.8 2001 50 63.8 2000 50 63.1
03In context
Tonga beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 183 countries on gender & equality, 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 183; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | Women, Business and the LawWBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity) | Women's Political Empowerment IndexWomen's political empowerment index (0–1) | Firms with a Female Top ManagerFirms with a female top manager (%) | Social Institutions and Gender IndexSIGI score (0 = no discrimination, 100 = absolute) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Samoa | =56th | 75 | — | 47.98 | — |
| Tonga | 94th | 61.25 | — | 30.18 | — |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Cook Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Tuvalu | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 183.
Placed either side on gender & equality
The countries immediately above and below Tonga in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Tonga is ahead of the world, and behind
17 more statistics filed under gender & equality, 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 median5
Statistics on which Tonga does better than the middle country measured.
Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.9980.971▲ Improved since 2013
Tonga: 0.998 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.
Position 6th of 184 · derived.
Antenatal Care Coverage, At Least Four VisitsUNICEF · 2025 · world median 8188.581No earlier reading
Tonga: 88.5 · world median 81 · Women with a live birth who had 4+ antenatal visits (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 22.6 to 100; higher is better.
Position 50th of 153 · derived.
Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.110.117.1No earlier reading
Tonga: 10.1 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.
Position 95th of 143 · derived, 1st = worst.
Adolescent Birth Rate (Ages 15–19)UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 27.4624.8427.46▼ Worsened since 2013
Tonga: 24.84 · world median 27.46 · Live births per 1,000 women aged 15–19. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.465 to 163.09; lower is better.
Position 121st of 222 · derived, 1st = worst.
Institutional DeliveriesUNICEF · 2025 · world median 96.997.696.9No earlier reading
Tonga: 97.6 · world median 96.9 · Live births delivered in a health facility (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.5 to 100; higher is better.
Behind the world median8
Statistics on which Tonga does worse than the middle country measured.
Maternal Mortality RatioMMEIG · 2023 · world median 46.6566.7846.65No real change since 2013
Tonga: 66.78 · world median 46.65 · Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.11 to 992.83; lower is better.
Position 83rd of 195 · derived, 1st = worst.
Firms with Female Participation in OwnershipWorld Bank Group · 2026 · world median 35.1231.2135.12No earlier reading
Tonga: 31.21 · world median 35.12 · Firms with at least one woman among the owners (%). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 1.273 to 86.78; higher is better.
Position 108th of 181 · derived.
Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.4440.351No real change since 2013
Tonga: 0.444 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.
Ranked 115th of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Women Who Think a Husband Is Justified in Hitting or Beating His WifeUNICEF · 2025 · world median 22.438.122.4No earlier reading
Tonga: 38.1 · world median 22.4 · Women aged 15-49 who say a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.2 to 80.2; lower is better.
Position 36th of 125 · derived, 1st = worst.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3642.3553.36No real change since 2015
Tonga: 42.35 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.
Position 141st of 182 · derived.
Length of Paid Paternity LeaveWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 303▼ Worsened since 2015
Tonga: 0 · world median 3 · Paid paternity leave set in law (calendar days). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 196; higher is better.
Demand for Family Planning Satisfied by Modern MethodsUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 71.2549.671.25▼ Worsened since 2013
Tonga: 49.6 · world median 71.25 · Share of women aged 15–49 wanting to avoid pregnancy who use a modern method (%). UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 8.4 to 92.4; higher is better.
Position 162nd of 196 · derived.
Length of Paid Maternity LeaveWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 98098No real change since 2015
Tonga: 0 · world median 98 · Paid maternity leave set in law (calendar days). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 410; higher is better.
No better end4
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Sex Ratio at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 105.1108.1105.1Moved since 2013
Tonga: 108.1 · world median 105.1 · Male births per 100 female births. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 101.1 to 116.3.
Mean Age at First Marriage, WomenUN DESA Population Division · 2019 · world median 24.6525.324.65No earlier reading
Tonga: 25.3 · world median 24.65 · Singulate mean age at marriage, women (years). UN DESA Population Division, 2019 edition, data for 2019.
Published values in that edition run from 17 to 34.
Caesarean Section RateUNICEF · 2025 · world median 20.6513.620.65No earlier reading
Tonga: 13.6 · world median 20.65 · Live births delivered by caesarean section (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.6 to 72.2.
Female-Headed HouseholdsUN DESA Population Division · 2026 · world median 33.2125.7433.21No earlier reading
Tonga: 25.74 · world median 33.21 · Households headed by a woman (% of households). UN DESA Population Division, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 5.33 to 64.59.
No current reading for Tonga
Account Ownership Among Women, Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff (last 2019), Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management (last 2023), Female Share of STEM Graduates, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment (last 2023), Gender Social Norms Index, Global Gender Parity Index, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Social Institutions and Gender Index, Women's Empowerment Index, Women's Political Empowerment Index 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
Gender & Equality among Tonga’s 15 topics
Gender & Equality is Tonga’s 7th 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 gender & equality
The three countries placed highest of 183, and the leaders Tonga can most readily be measured against.
1
LatviaNorthern Europe
1st of 183 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Marcin Szala · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
TaiwanEastern Asia
2nd of 183 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: xiangyang17 · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3
ItalySouthern Europe
3rd of 183 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Francisco Antunes · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Oceania
New Zealand9th4/4 keysHighest in Polynesia
Samoa=56th2/4 keysThis page
Tonga94th2/4 keys
Positions out of 183 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 gender & equality: 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 gender & equality?
Tonga is placed 94th of 183 countries on Gender & Equality in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (Women, Business and the Law and Firms with a Female Top Manager). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Women, Business and the Law figure for Tonga?
61.25 in 2025 (wBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 81.25.
What is the latest Firms with a Female Top Manager figure for Tonga?
30.18 in 2025 (firms with a female top manager (%)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 19.16.
How have Tonga’s gender & equality figures changed?
Women, Business and the Law rose from 50 in 2000 to 61.25 in 2025.
Which gender & equality statistics are missing for Tonga?
No current reading is published for Tonga on Account Ownership Among Women, Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment, Gender Social Norms Index, Global Gender Parity Index, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Social Institutions and Gender Index, Women's Empowerment Index, Women's Political Empowerment Index 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
Violence against women is not a key here, because comparable data covers too few countries. The Gender Inequality Index is published here as context rather than as a key: its reading is driven largely by maternal and adolescent health, which moves with a country’s overall development and is already measured under Development and Health. Women’s labour force participation, women in management and child marriage are published here as context too.
How the Gender & Equality 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 gender & equality method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- Women, Business and the Law — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Women's Political Empowerment Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Firms with a Female Top Manager — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Social Institutions and Gender Index — OECD, OECD Terms and Conditions — data clause
The other 17 statistics on this page come from 6 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
- Latvia — Marcin Szala, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Taiwan — xiangyang17, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Italy — Francisco Antunes, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Tonga: Gender & Equality — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/tonga/gender