Tokelau has a population of approximately 2,500 people; it has thefourth-smallest population of any sovereign state or dependency in the world. As of the 2016 census, around 45% of its residentshad been born overseas, mostly in Samoa or New Zealand.[11] The populace has alife expectancy of 69, which is comparable to that of otherOceanian island nations. Approximately 94% of the population speakTokelauan as their first language. Tokelau has the smallest economy of any nation. It is a leader inrenewable energy, being the first 100%solar-powered nation in the world.[12]
Tokelau is officially referred to as anation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government.[12][13][14] It is free and democratic, withelections every three years. However, in 2007, theUnited Nations General Assembly included Tokelau on itslist of non-self-governing territories.[15] Its inclusion on this list is controversial, as Tokelauans have twice narrowly failed to reach atwo-thirds majority for furtherself-determination in referendums,[b] and the islands' small population makes the viability of self-government challenging. The basis of Tokelau's legislative, administrative and judicial systems is theTokelau Islands Act 1948, which has been amended several times. Since 1993, the territory has annually elected its own head of government, theUlu-o-Tokelau. Before 1993, theadministrator of Tokelau was the highest official in the government and the territory was directly administered by a New Zealand government department.
Tokelau is a word meaning "north wind" in the nativeTokelau language. The Tokelau islands were named theUnion Islands andUnion Group by European explorers at an earlier time.[16]Tokelau Islands was adopted as the islands’ official name in 1946. The name was officially shortened toTokelau on 9 December 1976.[17]
Archaeological evidence indicates that the atolls of Tokelau – Atafu,Nukunonu, andFakaofo – were settled about 1,000 years ago from Samoa and may have been a gateway into Eastern Polynesia.[18] The inhabitants embracePolynesian mythology and the local god,Tui Tokelau.[19] Over time, they developed distinctivemusical and art forms. The three atolls have historically functioned separately politically, while maintaining social and linguistic cohesion. Tokelauan society has been governed by chieflyclans, and there have been occasional skirmishes and wars between the atolls, as well as inter-marriage. Fakaofo, the "chiefly island",[20] held some dominion over Atafu and Nukunonu after the dispersal of Atafu. Life on the atolls was historically subsistence-based, with a diet that relied mainly on fish andcoconut.[21]
The first European to sight Atafu was British Navy officer CommodoreJohn Byron, on 24 June 1765. He called the islandDuke of York's Island. Parties from his expedition who landed ashore reported that there were no signs of current or previous inhabitants.[22][23]Captain Edward Edwards, having learned of Byron's discovery, visited Atafu on 6 June 1791[24] in search of theBounty mutineers. They found no inhabitants, but saw that there were houses containing canoes and fishing gear, which suggested to them that the island was being used as a temporary residence by fishing parties from other, nearby islands.[23] On 12 June 1791, Edwards sailed farther south, and sighted Nukunonu, naming itDuke of Clarence's Island.[25] A landing party that went ashore was unable to make contact with the inhabitants, but saw "morais", burying places, and canoes with "stages in their middle" sailing across the island's lagoons.[23]
On 29 October 1825, August R. Strong of theUSSDolphin and his crew arrived at the atoll Nukunonu. He wrote:[26]
Upon examination, we found they had removed all the women and children from the settlement, which was quite small, and put them in canoes lying off a rock in the lagoon. They would frequently come near the shore, but when we approached they would pull off with great noise and precipitation.
On 14 February 1835, Captain Smith, of the United Stateswhaling shipGeneral Jackson, wrote of having sighted Fakaofo, which he chose to callD'Wolf's Island.[27][28] On 25 January 1841, theUnited States Exploring Expedition visited Atafu, and discovered a small population living on the island. The residents appeared to be there only temporarily, because there was no chief among them, and they had the kind of doublecanoes that were typically used for inter-island travel. They appeared to have interacted with foreigners in the past, because they expressed a desire to engage in barter with the expedition crew, and they possessed items that were apparently of foreign origin: blue beads and a plane-iron. A few days later, French explorer Captain Morvan sighted Fakaofo.[29] The American expedition reached Nukunonu on 28 January 1841, but did not record any information about inhabitants. On 29 January 1841, the expedition sighted Fakaofo and named itBowditch.[30] The Fakaofo islanders were found to be similar in appearance and behavior to the Atafu islanders.[31]
Missionaries preachedChristianity in Tokelau from 1845 to the 1870s. FrenchCatholic missionaries onWallis Island (also known as 'Uvea) and missionaries of theProtestantLondon Missionary Society in Samoa used native teachers to convert the Tokelauans. Atafu was converted to Protestantism by the London Missionary Society, Nukunonu was converted to Catholicism and Fakaofo was converted to both denominations.[32] The Rev. Samuel James Whitmee, of theLondon Missionary Society, visited Tokelau in 1870.[33]
Helped bySwains Island-based Eli Jennings Sr,Peruvian"blackbird"slave traders arrived in 1863 and kidnapped nearly all (253) of the able-bodied men to work as labourers, depopulating the atolls.[34] The Tokelauan men died ofdysentery andsmallpox, and very few returned. With that loss, the system of governance became based on the "Taupulega", or "Councils of Elders", on which individual families on each atoll were represented.[21][28] During that time,Polynesian immigrants settled, followed by American,Scottish, French,Portuguese[35] and Germanbeachcombers, marrying local women and repopulating the atolls.[28]
In 1856 the United States claimed that it held sovereignty over the island and the other Tokelauan atolls under theGuano Islands Act.[36] In 1979, the U.S. conceded that Tokelau was under New Zealand sovereignty, and amaritime boundary between Tokelau andAmerican Samoa was established by theTreaty of Tokehega.
In 1889, Tokelau became aprotectorate of the United Kingdom.[37] This lasted until 1916, when it was annexed and incorporated into theGilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In 1926, it was incorporated into New Zealand.
Cyclone Percy struck and severely damaged Tokelau in late February and early March 2005. Forecasters underestimated the cyclone's strength and the length of time it would be in vicinity to Tokelau. It coincided with a springtide which put most of the area of the two villages on Fakaofo and Nukunonu under a metre (3 ft 3 in) of seawater. The cyclone also caused majorerosion on several islets of all three atolls, damaging roads and bridges and disrupting electric power and telecommunications systems. The cyclone did significant and widespread damage to food crops including bananas,coconuts andpandanus. It did not seriously injure anyone but villagers lost significant amounts of property.
No significant land is more than two metres (6.6 feet) abovehigh water of ordinary tides. This means Tokelau is particularly vulnerable to futuresea level rise.
Until December 2011, Tokelau was 11 hours behindCoordinated Universal Time (UTC).[38] At midnight 29 December 2011 Tokelau shifted toUTC+13:00 in response to Samoa's decision to switch sides of the International Dateline.[39] This brought Tokelau closer toNew Zealand time (and in the process omitted 30 December).[40]
The Time&Date website states that "the international time zone community has apparently been listing the wrong local time for Tokelau since 1901" and that "most sources, including the commonly referred to International Atlas by Shanks/Pottenger, claim that the UTC offset is +14 hours, or equivalent (UTC-10:00 before 29 December 2011 and afterwards, UTC-10:00 plus one day)."[41]
In 1877, the islands were included under the protection of theUnited Kingdom by anOrder in Council that claimed jurisdiction over all unclaimedPacific Islands. CommanderC. F. Oldham onHMSEgeria landed at each of the three atolls in June 1889[42] and officially raised theUnion Flag, declaring the group a Britishprotectorate.[43] In conformity with desire expressed by "the Native government" they were annexed by the United Kingdom and included in theGilbert Islands by the Tokelau Islands (Union Islands) Order in Council, 1916.[43][44] The annexation took place on 29 February 1916.[45] From the point in time that the islands were annexed, their people had the status ofBritish subjects. Tokelau was removed from theGilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and placed under the jurisdiction of theGovernor-General of New Zealand in 1925, two Orders in Council being made for the purpose on the same day.[43][46] This step meant that New Zealand took over administration of Tokelau from the United Kingdom on 11 February 1926.[47] At this point, Tokelau was still a territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom but administered by New Zealand.[47]
The Union Islands (Revocation) Order in Council, 1948[48] after reciting the agreement by the governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand that the islands should become part of New Zealand, revoked the Union Islands (No. 2) Order in Council, 1925, with effect from a date fixed by the Governor-General of New Zealand after he was satisfied that the New Zealand Parliament had provided for the incorporation of the islands with New Zealand, as it did by theTokelau Islands Act 1948.[49] Tokelau formally became part of New Zealand on 1 January 1949.[47][50]
TheDominion of New Zealand, of which Tokelau formerly was a part, has since been superseded by theRealm of New Zealand, of which Tokelau remains a part. When theBritish Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 1 January 1949, Tokelauans who were British subjects gainedNew Zealand citizenship; a status they still hold.[51]
Villages are entitled to enact their own laws regulating their daily lives and New Zealand law only applies where it has been extended by specific enactment. Serious crime is rare and there are no prisons, and offenders are publicly rebuked, fined or made to work.[52]
The Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers legislative power on theGeneral Fono, aunicameral body. The number of seats each atoll receives in the Fono is determined by population – at present, Fakaofo and Atafu each have seven and Nukunonu has six.[54]Faipule andpulenuku also sit in the Fono.[54]
On 11 November 2004, Tokelau and New Zealand took steps to formulate a treaty that would turn Tokelau from a non-self-governing territory to a self-governing state infree association with New Zealand. Besides the treaty, a United Nations-sponsoredreferendum on self-determination took place, with the three islands voting on successive days starting 13 February 2006. (Tokelauans inApia, Samoa, voted on 11 February.)[55] Out of 581 votes cast, 349 were for Free Association, being short of the two-thirds majority required for the measure to pass.[56] The referendum was profiled (somewhat light-heartedly) in the 1 May 2006 issue ofThe New Yorker magazine.[57] A repeatreferendum took place on 20–24 October 2007, again narrowly failing to approve self-government. This time the vote was short by just 16 votes or 3%.[58]
In May 2008, the United Nations' Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon urged colonial powers "to complete the decolonization process in every one of the remaining 16non-self-governing territories", including Tokelau.[59] This ledThe New Zealand Herald to comment that the United Nations was "apparently frustrated by two failed attempts to get Tokelau to vote for independence".[60] In April 2008, speaking as leader of theNational Party, future New Zealand Prime MinisterJohn Key stated that New Zealand had "imposed two referenda on the people of the Tokelau Islands", and questioned "the accepted wisdom that small states should undergo a de-colonisation process".[61]
Consistent with the principles of partnership with New Zealand, defence is the responsibility of the New Zealand Government.[62] TheNew Zealand Defence Force has responsibilities for protecting the territory as well as its offshoreexclusive economic zone (EEZ). The total offshore EEZ is about 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi).[63] Vessels of theRoyal New Zealand Navy are employed for this task including itsProtector-class offshore patrol vessels.[64] Tokelau has its own customs regulations.[65]
Given Tokelau's limited wharf facilities, the Navy's multi-role ship,HMNZS Canterbury, has been employed to provide logistics support to the territory.[66]
Little crime has been reported in Tokelau and a total of nine police officers were reported as present as of the early 2020s: three each on Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu. According to the Government they are responsible to the village authorities for the enforcement of law and order and to the public service for their various civil duties.[67]
Tokelau includes three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean between longitudes171° W and173° W and between latitudes8° S and10° S, about midway between Hawaii and New Zealand. From Atafu in the north to Fakaofo in the south, Tokelau extends for less than 200 kilometres (120 mi). The atolls lie about 500 kilometres (310 mi) north ofSamoa. The atolls areAtafu andNukunonu, both in an island group once called the Duke of Clarence Group, andFakaofo, once Bowditch Island. Their combined land area is 10.8 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi). The atolls each havea number of coral islands, wherethe villages are situated. The highest point of Tokelau is just 5 metres (16 ft)above sea level.[68] There are no ports or harbours for large vessels, however, all three atolls have a jetty to and from which supplies and passengers are shipped.[69][70][71] Tokelau lies in the Pacifictropical cyclone belt. A fourth island that is culturally, historically, and geographically, but not politically, a part of the Tokelau Islands isSwains Island (Olohega), under United States control since about 1900 and administered as a part ofAmerican Samoa since 1925.[72]
Swains Island was claimed by the United States pursuant to theGuano Islands Act, as were the other three islands of Tokelau; the latter three claims were ceded to Tokelau by treaty in 1979. In the draft constitution of Tokelau subject to the Tokelauan self-determination referendum in 2006, Olohega (Swains Island) was also claimed as a part of Tokelau, though the claim was surrendered in the same 1979 treaty. This established a clearly defined boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau.
Tokelau's claim to Swains is generally comparable to theMarshall Islands' claim to U.S.-administeredWake Island, but the re-emergence of this somewhat dormant issue has been an unintended result of the United Nations' recent efforts to promote decolonisation in Tokelau. Tokelauans have proven somewhat reluctant to push their national identity in the political realm: recent decolonisation moves have mainly been driven from outside for ideological reasons. But at the same time, Tokelauans are reluctant to disown their common cultural identity with Swains Islanders who speak their language.
Tokelau is located in theWestern Polynesian tropical moist forestsecoregion.[73] Most of the original vegetation has been replaced bycoconut plantations, some of which have been abandoned and became scrubby forests. The atolls of Tokelau provide habitat for 38 indigenous plant species, over 150 insect species and 10 land crab species. One of the greatest threats to biodiversity is posed by introduced mammalian predators such as thePolynesian Rat.[74]
Tokelau's economy is among the smallest globally, primarily characterized by subsistence agriculture and fishing.[76] The residents cultivate crops such as coconuts (forcopra), taro, breadfruit, papayas, bananas, and figs, and raise livestock including pigs and poultry. Fishing, particularly for local consumption, plays a vital role in their sustenance.[77]
The territory's economic activities are limited, with revenues stemming from the sale of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, handicrafts, and remittances from Tokelauans residing inNew Zealand.[78] These remittances are significant, given that approximately 80% of Tokelauans live abroad.[77]
In recent years, Tokelau has sought to diversify its revenue streams. Notably, the territory has generated income through the registration of domain names under its country code top-level domain (ccTLD), .tk. By 2012, about one-sixth of Tokelau's economy was derived from this source.
Threesolar power stations with a total generation capacity of 930kWp were installed to provide 100% of current electrical demand fromphotovoltaics, with lead acid battery backup able to store around 8MWh.[82] The first power station was completed in August 2012. In total, 4,032 solar panels are used and 1,344 batteries weighing 250 kilograms (550 lb) each. The systems are designed to withstand winds of 230 km/h (143 mph).[83] By 2011, Tokelau's electricity was 93% generated byphotovoltaics, with the remainder generated fromcoconut oil.[84] As of 2019, increased demand and degradation of batteries had led to increased need for backup power.[85] Plans were made for an additional 210 kW of PV and close to 2MWh of lithium-ion battery capacity.[85]
Tokelau has increased its GDP by more than 10% through registrations ofdomain names under itstop-level domain,.tk.[86] Registrations can be either free, in which case the user owns only usage rights and not the domain itself, or paid, which grants full rights. Free domains are pointed to Tokelauname servers, which redirects the domain viaHTML frames to a specified address or to a specifiedA orNS record, and the redirection of up to 250 email addresses to an external address (not at a .tk domain).
In September 2003,Fakaofo became the first part of Tokelau with a high-speed Internet connection. Foundation Tokelau financed the project. Tokelau gave most domain names under its authority away to anyone for free to gain publicity for the territory. This has allowed the nation to gain enhanced telecommunications technologies, such as more computers and Internet access for Tokelauan residents. By 2012, there were about 120 computers, mostly laptops, and 1/6th of the economy consisted of income from .tk domain names.[87]
According to a 2016 analysis of domain name registration performed by the.uk registrarNominet using data from ZookNIC,[88] tk domains are the "world's largest country-code domain ... almost as large as second and third place holders China (.cn) and Germany (.de) combined".[89]
On 3 March 2023, Meta sued Freenom forcybersquatting and trademark infringement, leading to a halt in new domain registrations, and in November 2023,ICANN terminated Freenom's registrar accreditation due to unresolved breaches. By February 2024, Freenom settled the lawsuit with Meta, announced its exit from the domain business, and by March 2024, 99% of Freenom domains became inaccessible, significantly affectingCloudflare's hosted domains.[90]
According to the 2016 Tokelau Census, Tokelau has ade jure usually resident population of 1,499 people. The census shows a 6.2% increase in the de jure usually resident population between 2011 and 2016.[91]
The nationals of Tokelau are calledTokelauans, and the major ethnic group isPolynesian; it has no recorded minority groups. About 84% of inhabitants are of wholly or partly Tokelauan ethnicity; people ofSamoan ethnicity make up 6.7% of the population, andTuvaluans 2.8%.[92] The main language – spoken by over 90% of inhabitants – isTokelauan, but almost 60% also speak English.
The less than 1,500 Polynesian inhabitants live in three villages. Their isolation and lack of resources greatly limits economic development and confines agriculture to the subsistence level. The very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration toNew Zealand andSamoa. In the 2013 New Zealand census, more than 7,000 people identified as Tokelauan, almost five times as many as live in Tokelau itself.[11] Depletion oftuna has made fishing for food more difficult.[citation needed]
A significant proportion (44.9% in 2016) of the populationwere born overseas, mostly in Samoa (15.3% of total population) and New Zealand (11.5%).[11]
While slightly more females than males live on Atafu and Fakaofo, males make up 57% of Nukunonu residents.[93] Only 9% of Tokelauans aged 40 or more have never been married.[94] One-quarter of the population were born overseas; almost all the rest live on the same atoll they were born on.[95] Most households own five or more pigs.[96]
Despite its low income, Tokelau has a life expectancy of 69 years, comparable with other Oceania islands.[97]
Tokelau is predominantly Christian[99] with majority belonging to either Congregational Christian Church (Ekalehia Fakalapotopotoga Kelihiano Tokelau) or Roman Catholic.[100]
In 2016, 50.4% of responents belonged to Congregational Christian Church, 38.7% wereRoman Catholic, 5.9% werePresbyterian, 4.2% were other Christian and 0.8% were unspecified.[101] Majority of resident population ofAtafu (78.3%) andFakaofo (62.7%) identified as Congregational Christians. While the majority of residents inNukunonu (81.8%) identified as Roman Catholic.[102]
Each atoll has a school and hospital. The health services have a Director of Health inApia and a Chief Clinical Advisor who moves from atoll to atoll as required to assist the doctors attached to each hospital. In 2007, there was not always a doctor on each island andlocums were appointed to fill the gaps.[103]
Many Tokelauan youth travel to New Zealand to further their education, with students returning home and then heading off for another year of study.[citation needed]
Due to its small size, Tokelau is unaffiliated to most international sports organisations, and rarely takes part in international events. The only significant international competition Tokelau takes part in is thePacific Games. Tokelau won its first-ever gold medals at the2007 Pacific Games inApia, winning a total of five medals (three gold, a silver and a bronze), all inlawn bowls, and finishing 12th (out of 22) on the overall medal table. This included two gold medals forViolina Linda Pedro (in the women's pairs and the women's singles), making her Tokelau's most successful individual athlete to date.[104]
Tokelau was due to take part, for the first time, in the2010 Commonwealth Games, inDelhi,[107] but, for unknown reasons, ultimately did not do so.[108] In 2018, Tokelau was noted to be ineligible for the Commonwealth Games until it became affiliated to at least fiveinternational sport federations.[109]
Tokelau has a National Sports Federation, and a significant sporting event is theTokelau Games, which are held yearly. When they are held, "all of Tokelau virtually stands still", as "[i]n excess of 50% of the population take part and all work and school stops at the time". The 2010 Games included competitions inrugby sevens,netball andkilikiti, alongside "a cultural evening [...] where each atoll showcases their traditional songs and dances".[105]
Netball is thought to have been introduced to Tokelau by the British, but became more popular when New Zealand's government took over the territory. The sport is often played during inter-island sport competitions, alongside other sports likerugby league andvolleyball.[110]
A barge leaves the landing ramp inNukunonu to collect cargo and passengers from theMVTokelau.
Tokelau has a radio telephone service between the islands and toSamoa. In 1997, a government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok) with three satellite earth stations was established, making Tokelau the last place in the world connected via phone.[112] Each atoll has a radio-broadcast station that broadcasts shipping and weather reports and every household has a radio or access to one. News is disseminated through the governmentnewsletterTe Vakai.
In 2019, Tokelau agreed to connect toSouthern Cross Cable's 60 TbpsNEXT subsea cable stretching between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States[113] In September 2021, the island was connected to the new cable[114] and services were launched in July 2022, granting it access to a network of400GbE telecommunications service to datacenters around the world.[115][116]
Tokelau has theinternational calling code of 690, and has had five-digit telephone numbers from November 2015 (the existing four-digit numbers were prefixed by the digit "2").[117]
Tokelau is served by the MVMataliki, delivered new in 2016 as a replacement of the smaller MVTokelau and jointly managed by the Tokelau Transport Department and the company Transport and Marine. The vessel, which has a capacity of 60 passengers on international cruises and 120 for transport between the atolls of Tokelau, operates fortnightly between Tokelau andApia, with the trip taking a little over a day.[118] A dedicated cargo vessel, the MVKalopaga, entered service in 2018 and replaced chartered freight vessels.[119]
Ships load and unload cargo by motoring up to the down-wind (leeward) side of the islet where the people live and maintaining station, by intermittent use of engines, close to the reef edge so that a landing barge can be motored out to transfer cargo to or from the shore.[citation needed] On returning to shore, the barge negotiates a narrow channel through the reef to the beach. Usually this landing is subject to ocean swell and beaching requires considerable skill and, often,coral abrasions to bodies. When bad weather prevents the barge making the trip, the ship stands off to wait for suitable weather or goes off to one of the other atolls to attempt to load or unload its passengers or cargo, or both.[citation needed]
There is no airport in Tokelau, so boats are the main means of travel and transport. Someseaplanes andamphibious aircraft are able to land in the island's lagoons.[120] An airstrip was considered by the New Zealand Government in 2010.[121] In 2016, plans to link the atolls with Samoa by helicopter had to be abandoned because of high costs, leading in the following years to renewed calls to the New Zealand government for help with establishing air services.[119] As of 2022, it was reported that the airport project – funded by the New Zealand government – was moving forward.[122]
^Referendums were held in2006 and2007. Both required two-thirds support in order to make Tokelau a self-governingassociated state of New Zealand; both received over 60% support, but below the two-thirds needed.
^"Decolonization : Issue on Tokelau"(PDF). United Nations. January 1979. p. 3. Retrieved2 December 2022.In December 1976, the Territory ceased being called The Tokelau Islands and was officially designated "Tokelau"
^Smith, S. Percy (1920). "Notes on the Ellice and Tokelau Groups; translated from the "Karere Mangaia" 1899".Journal of the Polynesian Society.29:144–148.
^Byron, John; Wallis, John Samuel; Carteret, Philip; Cook, James; Banks, Sir Joseph (1773).An Account of the Voyages Undertaken. W. Strahan. pp. 132–134.
^Whitmee, Rev. Samuel James (1871).A missionary cruise in the South Pacific: being the report of a voyage amongst the Tokelau, Ellice and Gilbert Islands, in the missionary barque "John Williams" during 1870. Sydney: Joseph Cook & Co.
^H.E. Maude'sSlavers in Paradise (A.N.U., Canberra, 1981)
^Lister, J.J. (1892)."Notes on the Natives of Fakaofu".Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute.21. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland:43–63.JSTOR2842209.
^The Union Islands Order in Council Nos. 1 and 2, S.R.O. 1925, pp. 511 and 1768; No. 1 Order in S.R.O. & S.I. Rev. IX, 663.
^abcTokelau: A history of Government – The constitutional history and legal development of Tokelau; Compiled and recorded for the Tokelau Law Team by Tony Angelo and Talei Pasikale, 2008
^Angelo, Tony; Pasikale, Talei (2008)."Tokelau–A History of Government"(PDF). p. 23.Tokelau formally became part of New Zealand on 1 January 1949 by section 3 of the Tokelau Act 1948 (NZ)
^Green, David (13 July 2012)."Citizenship – Aliens and citizens".Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved27 August 2016.
^"Official site for the Tokelau Council of Ongoing Government". Archived fromthe original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved4 November 2007.The legislation and judicial systems are based on the Tokelau Act, 1948, and its amendments. A major law reform project is continuing; its purpose is to ensure that Tokelau has a coherent body of law which responds to current needs and gives due recognition to local custom. Unless it is expressly extended to Tokelau, New Zealand statute law does not apply to the territory. In practice, no New Zealand legislation is extended to Tokelau without Tokelauan consent. The villages have the statutory power to enact their own laws covering village affairs. International covenants on economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights, ratified by New Zealand in December 1978, apply in Tokelau. Civil and criminal jurisdiction is exercised by commissioners and the New Zealand high court.
^United States Code, Title 48, section 1662: 4 March 1925, ch. 563, 43 Stat. 1357 as referred to inTokelau: A history of Government – The constitutional history and legal development of Tokelau; Compiled and recorded for the Tokelau Law Team by Tony Angelo and Talei Pasikale, 2008
^McQuarrie, Peter (2007).Tokelau People, Atolls and History. Wellington, New Zealand: Publications Committee of MacMillan Browne Centre for Pacific Studies.ISBN978-1-877449-41-3.
^"Tokelau", Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, 29 July 2010.
24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
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