CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Niue


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!| Background:
 * Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2004), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 260 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea !| Geography - note:
 * Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga
 * 19 02 S, 169 52 W
 * Oceania
 * total: 260 sq km
 * 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 64 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical; modified by southeast trade winds
 * steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau
 * lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
 * fish, arable land
 * arable land: 15.38%
 * NA sq km
 * typhoons
 * increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
 * one of world's largest coral islands
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: !| Infant mortality rate: male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) !| Life expectancy at birth: male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Niuean !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 95% male: NA female: NA
 * 2,156 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: NA
 * 0.01% (2004 est.)
 * NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * NA (2004 est.)
 * total: NA
 * total population: NA years
 * NA children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Niuean(s)
 * Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans)
 * Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist)
 * Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English
 * definition: NA
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers !| Legislative branch: election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2005) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: none
 * self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue
 * self-governing parliamentary democracy
 * Alofi
 * none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order
 * on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand
 * Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)
 * 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)
 * English common law
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
 * unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
 * Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue
 * Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA]
 * NA
 * ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
 * none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
 * none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
 * yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: 55% !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million.
 * purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.)
 * -0.3% (2000 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.)
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 1% (1995)
 * NA (1998 est.)
 * most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board
 * NA (March 1999)
 * revenues: NA
 * coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle
 * tourism, handicrafts, food processing
 * NA
 * 3 million kWh (2001)
 * 2.79 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 20 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $137,200 (1999)
 * canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts
 * New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000)
 * $2.38 million (1999)
 * food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs
 * New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000)
 * $418,000 (2002 est.)
 * $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002)
 * New Zealand dollar (NZD)
 * NZD
 * New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999)
 * 1 April - 31 March
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: international: country code - 683 !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 1,100 est (2002)
 * 400 (2002)
 * domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
 * AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 1,000 (1997)
 * 1 (1997)
 * NA
 * .nu
 * 1 (2000)
 * NA
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!| Highways: paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 234 km
 * none; offshore anchorage only
 * none
 * 1 (2003 est.)
 * total: 1
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!| Military branches: !| Military - note:
 * no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force
 * defense is the responsibility of New Zealand
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