Which Pacific island country’s currency is the paʻanga? Tonga.
The paʻanga is the currency of Tonga, the Polynesian kingdom in the southwestern Pacific. Its ISO 4217 currency code is TOP, and one paʻanga is divided into 100 seniti. Tongan banknotes and coins use national symbols, the monarch’s portrait and scenes connected with the country’s culture and landscape.
Tonga introduced the paʻanga on 3 April 1967, replacing the Tongan pound at a rate of one pound to two paʻanga. Until 1991, the currency was pegged to the Australian dollar. It is now managed against a basket including the Australian, New Zealand and United States dollars and the Japanese yen.
The word paʻanga has an unusual background: it is the Tongan name for Entada phaseoloides, a bean-producing vine whose seeds were used as ornaments and playing pieces. The currency is sometimes casually called a “dollar” in English, but paʻanga is the official name. It should not be confused with the tala of Samoa or the Australian dollar used in several nearby Pacific economies.