Tonga
Results in this brief are from an analysis of the Tonga 2016 Census. Information on methodology is in the main text of the report and in the method briefs. Additional results are available in results tables on the DDI website.
Share of Adults with Functional Difficulties
In Tonga, the share of adults aged 15 and older with any functional difficulty stands at 12.7%. As shown in Table 1, it varies from a low of 11.2% in Eua to a high of 16.8% in Ha’apai. In all regions, seeing is the most common type of functional difficulty; communication is the least common.
Table 1: Tonga: Share of Adults with Functional Difficulties at the regional level (%)
| Region | Any | Seeing | Hearing | Mobility | Cognition | Self-Care | Communication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eua | 11.2 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 7.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 1.8 |
| Ha’apai | 16.8 | 8.4 | 3.8 | 9.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 2.2 |
| Ongo Niua | 14.2 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.1 |
| Tongatapu | 12.1 | 6.2 | 3.2 | 6.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| Vava’u | 14.7 | 7.9 | 4.4 | 8.4 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 2.8 |
| National | 12.7 | 6.4 | 3.3 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
Notes: ‘Any’ is the share of adults with any level of difficulty (some difficulty, a lot of difficulty or unable to do in one or more functional domains. For instance, ‘Seeing’ is the share of adults with difficulty in seeing of any level. Shares for the six domains do not add up to the share of any difficulty as some individuals may have functional difficulties in more than one domain. Source: Own calculations based on the 2016 Tonga Census.
Multidimensional Poverty
Multidimensional poverty captures an individual’s experience of multiple deprivations (e.g. low educational attainment, inadequate living conditions). In Tonga, the shares of persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty and some difficulty who are multidimensionally poor stand at 54.9% and 40%, respectively. These are higher compared to those of persons with no difficulty at 34.7%.
Thus, there is a disability gap in multidimensional poverty between persons with at least a lot of difficulty and no difficulty (20.2 percentage points) and between persons with some difficulty and no difficulty (5.3 percentage points). In other words, persons in Tonga with functional difficulties more frequently experience multiple deprivations than persons without difficulty.
As illustrated in Figure 1/Table 2, multidimensional poverty is common in all regions among adults with functional difficulties. Across all regions, persons in Tonga with at least a lot of difficulty tend to experience multidimensional poverty more frequently than persons with some or no difficulty.
Figure 1: South Africa: Multidimensional poverty headcount among adults with no, some and at least a lot of difficulty (%)
Figure 1a: Adults with no difficulty
Figure 1b: Adults with some difficulty
Figure 1c: Adults with at least a lot of difficulty
Source: Own calculations based on Tonga census data (2016). The notes of Table 1 apply.
Table Supporting figure 1: Tonga: Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Among adults with no, some and at least a lot of difficulty (%)
| Region | No difficulty | Some difficulty | At least a lot of difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eua | 29.5 | 26.1 | 50.0 |
| Ha’apai | 34.4 | 33.8 | 65.7 |
| Ongo Niua | 40.0 | 44.4 | 69.0 |
| Tongatapu | 35.4 | 42.7 | 53.0 |
| Vava’u | 32.6 | 34.0 | 58.9 |
| National | 34.7 | 40.0 | 54.9 |