Tonga Launches 2025 Household Income and Expenditure Survey
Nuku’alofa, Tonga – January 13, 2025 – The Tonga Statistics Department (TSD) announced the commencement of the 2025 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), a nationwide initiative to gather vital data on the economic and social well-being of the people of Tonga.
This year’s HIES is a collaborative effort between the Tongan government, the World Bank through the Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building for Tonga Project (SICBT), and the Pacific Community (SPC). The SICBT project funds the initiative, while TSD will implement it with technical support from SPC.
A two-week intensive training program began today for 31 enumerators who will be responsible for conducting the survey. The training equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge to collect data from about 2,100 households spread over Tonga from January to October 2025.
The HIES data is crucial for revising and improving the accuracy of Tonga’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, a key indicator of economic growth. It will also enable the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a vital tool for measuring inflation and informing economic policy decisions.
The survey also collects detailed information on household income and expenditure patterns. This data will provide policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders with a deeper understanding of the most significant sources of income and essential expenditure categories for households in Tonga. This information is crucial for developing and implementing effective social and economic development programs.
The TSD acknowledges the invaluable support of Mr. Bertrand Buffier and Mr. Winston Fainga’anuku from SPC in facilitating the training program. TSD also thank the SICBT project and the Tongan government for funding the HIES 2025.
The Household Income and Expenditure Survey is a standard survey conducted in all Pacific Island countries and territories to gather comprehensive data on household living standards. The previous HIES Report from 2021 can be accessed here.
For more information,
Contact:
Ms Telekaki Latavao
Assistant Government Statistician
Tonga Statistics Department
Phone: 23-300
tongastats.gov.to