Tokelau National Statistics Office

About the Office

Samoa Bureau of Statistics
www.sbs.gov.ws

The Tokelau National Statistics Office is a part of the Office of Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau and the key provider of official statistics to the Government of Tokelau. It operates under the Statistics Rules (2013).

Click here for more information about the Office including:

how to contact the Office
legislation governing official statistics in Tokelau
key policies for users and respondents
statements of intent.

Census

The census is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in Tokelau. Information from the census provides an overall view of the people of Tokelau and they places where they live.

Go to the Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings page to access information from the 2006 and 2011 Tokelau Censuses. The latest Census was held on 18 October 2016. Results were published within 6 months of Census date: Population count, Analytical tables, Atoll profiles, and Final Analytical Report

CPI

The consumer price index (CPI) measures changes to the prices of consumer items bought by Tokelau households, giving a measure of inflation.

Go to the quarterly updated consumer price index page to access the latest releases and technical information on Tokelau's CPI.

Economic development

A selection of macro- and micro-economic Tokelau statistics is available, summarised for the Tokelau Economic Summit in Atafu, 12-14 April 2018. (download pdf, 14 pages, 1.4MB)

GDP 2006/07 to 2017/18

Tokelau's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was determined for the first time this century by consultants from the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC), a regional branch of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this first release (of which a Tokelau version is also available), the GDP value for 2015/16 was determined to be NZ$14 million, and the per capita GDP was US$6,275.

In a follow-up project, a GDP time series from 2006/07 to 2016/17 was developed, with support from the Pacific Statistics Strategy Programme (administered by StatisticsNZ for NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, MFAT). This thumbnail alongside links into a graph illustrating the data up to 2017/18.

These results, combined with additional data from the Tokelau Department of Finance (Excel, 17 kB), were used in the OECD tax revenue publication for Asia/Pacific (select Tokelau).

GHG 1990-2017

In 2018, NZ Ministry for the Environment (MFE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tokelau’s Climate Change Agency (now Ministry of Climate Change, Oceans and Resilience, MiCORe). One of the objectives was to work closely together on an inventory of Tokelau greenhouse gases (GHG) to supplement the NZ mainland emissions.

We could help demonstrate that the Tokelau emissions fall below the 0.05% total emissions of NZ (and can therefore be considered negligible). The results have been published as Chapter 8 in NZ’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2017, April 2019 (MFE).

Tokelau is at the worst receiving end of climate change. We now also have the evidence that we contribute next to nothing to the problem. Total emissions within Tokelau were calculated to be a mere 3 kilotonnes per annum, as visualised on the MFE website's emissionstracker

HIES 2015/16

The first-ever Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was held in Tokelau from May 2015 to February 2016. Go to the Tokelau HIES page to access information about it.

Imports 2014-2019

In 2015, the Tokelau National Statistics Office completed a study that analysed imports of foods, alcohol, cigarettes and fuel from Samoa during 2014 into Tokelau by the co-operative and bulk stores (of which there is one on each atoll). The report provides a fascinating insight into consumption patters of the inhabitants of the atolls Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo in 2014.

Analysing 2014 imports from Samoa by Tokelau’s co-operative and bulk stores
How much do Tokelauans consume – and throw away – in one year? Summary version 2, August 2016. (download pdf, 8 pages, 1.2MB)
Analysis of 2014 imports into Tokelau from Samoa. Part 2: Stores' invoices reconciled with cargo manifests, and quality of life implications

NSDS

A National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) is being developed with the assistance of the Paris21 organisation. In 2015, the following were completed:

Assessment of Tokelau’s National Statistical System (pdf 30 pages, 450 MB)
Roadmap for Tokelau’s National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (pdf 21 pages, 418 MB)

Population Count

The 3-yearly Population Count forms the basis for the number of elected representatives for each atoll at the General Fono.

In December 2019 the TNSO counted 1,647 usual residents for Tokelau in the 2019 Tokelau Population Count. Visit the Population Count page for more information, including the final count release, demographic tables, and copies of the forms used in the Count.

For the population count 2016, results from the October 2016 Census were applied.

Statement of Intent

The Tokelau National Statistics Office has since mid 2013 produced, at the end of each financial year, a statement of intent for the coming year, with a summary of achievements in the preceding financial year. Latest version: TNSO Statement of Intent, 2019/20 and beyond (pdf 28 pages, 331 KB).

Various other statistics news items

World Statistics Day: update of TNSO, with more than just-a-little-help-from-our-friends (20 October 2017)
Tokelau’s CRVS system in the Pacific spotlight (February 2016)
What’s your number, Tokelau? (20 October 2015)
Tokelau Statistics Secondment Successful (29 April 2015)
Tokelau statistics office joins SIDS in full force (1 September 2014)
Statistics NZ reaffirms Tokelau connection (April 2014)