Tokelau: Flag and Facts
Tokelau's flag is dark blue with a yellow Tokelauan canoe heading for a cluster of four white five-pointed stars near the hoist.
- Capital
- Fakaofo
- Region
- Polynesia
- Population
- 2,453 (2024)
- Languages
- English, Samoan, Tokelauan
- Currency
- New Zealand dollar
- Area
- 12 km² (5 sq mi)
- People
- Tokelauan
- Calling code
- +690
- Highest point
- unnamed location 5 m
- Independence
- none (territory of New Zealand)
- National symbols
- tuluma (fishing tackle box)
- Borders
- No land borders
- Status
- Territory (not a sovereign country)
About Tokelau
Three coral atolls make up Tokelau: Fakaofo, Atafu and Nukunonu. Polynesians settled them around A.D. 1000, and Fakaofo eventually gained control over the other two. British explorers sighted the atolls in 1765 and 1791, and missionaries arrived in the 1840s. In 1863, slave raiders from Peru took many islanders, and disease around the same time left only about 200 people.
Britain made Tokelau a protectorate in 1889, and New Zealand took over administration in 1925. A 1948 law moved sovereignty to New Zealand and gave Tokelauans New Zealand citizenship. Today only about 2,453 people live on 12 square kilometers of land, and around 80% of Tokelauans live in New Zealand instead. A Council of Elders still guides local decisions.
Did you know?
- The highest point in Tokelau is just 5 meters above sea level.
- A tuluma, a fishing tackle box, is the national symbol.
- The four stars on the flag form the Southern Cross.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Tokelau
Is Tokelau a country?
No. Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand and uses the New Zealand dollar.
What languages are spoken in Tokelau?
Tokelauan, Samoan and English are all listed.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.