More people left Tonga than entered the country in August, while air visitor arrivals rose sharply compared with the same month last year.

Figures from the Tonga Statistics Department show 11,191 international departures and 10,817 arrivals during August 2026 — a difference of 374 movements.

The department’s monthly migration statistics track overseas arrivals and departures by air, cruise ship and yacht, using information from Customs and Immigration’s border-management systems.

Visitor arrivals increased

The number of air visitors reached 7,369, up 19.1% from August 2025.

However, returning residents travelling by air fell to 3,162, down 4.5% from a year earlier.

Overall arrivals were therefore 9.9% higher than August 2025, despite being 14.7% lower than July.

Air departures also increased compared with August 2025. Departures by non-residents rose 20% to 8,212, while departures by Tongan residents fell 6.6% to 2,888.

The Statistics Department describes migration data as an important source for planning and decision-making, including population estimates and projections.

Tourism remains the main reason for visits

Holiday and vacation travel accounted for 5,288, or 71.8%, of all air visitors during August.

Visiting relatives and friends was the second-largest category at 1,141 visitors, or 15.5%, followed by training and conferences at 485, or 6.6%.

New Zealand was the largest single source of air visitors, with 2,222 people, representing 30.2% of the total.

Australia accounted for 1,365 visitors, the United States 1,273 and Fiji 278.

What the figures show

The August figures show both sides of Tonga’s international movement: visitor arrivals are recovering compared with a year earlier, while the number of people travelling out of the country remains higher than the number entering.

The gap was not unique to August. The Statistics Department’s historical data show that Tonga recorded more departures than arrivals in several years before the COVID-19 border disruption, including 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The August figures measure movements across Tonga’s borders, not the number of unique people permanently migrating. They therefore should not, by themselves, be interpreted as a measure of permanent population loss.

Future monthly migration figures will show whether the August gap between departures and arrivals continues, while the upcoming 2026 Population and Housing Census is expected to provide a broader picture of Tonga’s population and demographic changes.

The census will be held at the end of November.