🇹🇰 Tokelau

National Flag

Geography & Borders

This country has no land borders.

Introduction & Background

Tokelau (/ˈtoʊkəlaʊ/; lit.'north-northeast' or 'north wind';6 known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands7) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10km2 (4sqmi). The capital rotates yearly among the three atolls.8 In addition to these three, Swains Island, which forms part of the same archipelago, is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.

Tokelau has a population of approximately 1,500 people; it has the fourth-smallest population of any sovereign state or dependency in the world. As of the 2016 census, around 45% of its residents had been born overseas, mostly in Samoa or New Zealand.9 The populace has a life expectancy of 69, which is comparable to that of other Oceanian island nations. Approximately 94% of the population speak Tokelauan as their first language. Tokelau has the smallest economy of any sovereign nation, although it is a leader in renewable energy, being the first 100% solar-powered nation in the world.10