Tongan people in New Zealand
- In 2001, 92 percent of Tongan people reported an affiliation with a Christian religion. The most common religious affiliations were Methodist (45 percent of those with an affiliation) and Catholic (22 percent) – followed by Latter-day Saints (11 percent), Pentecostal (4 percent) and Presbyterian (4 percent).
- Tongan people in older age groups were marginally more likely to report a religious affiliation than their younger counterparts, as figure 3.1 shows. In 2001, 97 percent of Tongans aged between 45 and 64 reported a religious affiliation, whereas the equivalent proportion for those aged between 25 and 34 years was 94 percent.
- Overseas-born Tongans were more likely to report a religious affiliation than New Zealand-born Tongans (98 percent and 89 percent respectively).
- In 2001, 7 percent of Tongan people said they had no religious affiliation. Among the Pacific population, the equivalent figure was 12 percent. By comparison, almost a third of the New Zealand population said they had no religious affiliation.