Forgotten World (234): Tokelau
Three far-flung coral atolls – Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo – make up Tokelau, a Polynesian territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific. Lying between New Zealand and Hawaii, Tokelau has few physical links with the wider world. There is no airport and it takes more than a day at sea to reach its southern neighbour, Samoa.
Tokelau’s electorate, numbering around 600, have rejected self-rule in two separate referendums held in 2006 and 2007. Most of the 1,500 islanders live by subsistence farming. Thousands have chosen to leave, usually for New Zealand or Samoa. The latter has a similar culture and language.