Niue

Airports

1 with permanent-surface runway of 1,650 m

Highways

123 km all-weather roads, 106 km access and plantation roads

Ports

none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications

single-line telephone system connects all villages on island; 383 telephones; 1,000 radio receivers (1987 est.); stations--1 AM, 1 FM, no TV

Branches

Police Force

Note

defense is the responsibility of New Zealand

Agriculture

copra, coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes; subsistence crops--taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle

Budget

revenues $5.5 million; expenditures $6.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY85 est.)

Currency

New Zealand dollar (plural--dollars); 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $62 million

Electricity

1,500 kW capacity; 3 million kWh produced, 1,490 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1--1.6798 (January 1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6711 (1989), 1.5244 (1988), 1.6886 (1987), 1.9088 (1986), 2.0064 (1985)

Exports

$175,274 (f.o.b., 1985); commodities--canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaw, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts; partners--NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GNP

$2.1 million, per capita $1,000; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Imports

$3.8 million (c.i.f., 1985); commodities--food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs; partners--NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Western Samoa, Australia, US

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

tourist, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.6% (1984)

Overview

The economy is heavily dependent on aid from New Zealand. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, with the shortfall made up by grants from New Zealand--the grants are used to pay wages to public employees. 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.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds

Coastline

64 km Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Comparative area

slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment

subject to typhoons

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 61%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 19%; other 12%

Natural resources

fish, arable land

Note

one of world's largest coral islands; located about 460 km east of Tonga

Terrain

steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau

Total area

260 km2; land area: 260 km2

Administrative divisions

none

Capital

Alofi

Constitution

19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)

Diplomatic representation

none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)

Executive branch

British monarch, premier, Cabinet

Flag

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

Independence

became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand on 19 October 1974

Judicial branch

Appeal Court of New Zealand, High Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by New Zealand Representative John SPRINGFORD (since 1974); Head of Government--Premier Sir Robert R. REX (since NA October 1974)

Legal system

English common law

Legislative branch

Legislative Assembly

Long-form name

none

Member of

ESCAP (associate), SPC, SPF

National holiday

Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty), 6 February (1840)

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18 Niue Island Party (NIP), Young VIVIAN Legislative Assembly--last held on 8 April 1990 (next to be held March 1993); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(20 total, 6 elected) independents 5, NIP 1

Type

self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

Polynesian, with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans

Infant mortality rate

NA deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

1,000 (1981 est.); most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board

Language

Polynesian tongue closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English

Life expectancy at birth

NA years male, NA years female (1991)

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%) but compulsory education age 5 to 14

Nationality

noun--Niuean(s); adjective--Niuean

Net migration rate

NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

NA

Population

1,908 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.1% (1991)

Religion

Ekalesia Nieue (Niuean Church)--a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society 75%, Mormon 10%, Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman (1991)