Tokelau

Airports

none; lagoon landings by amphibious aircraft from Western Samoa

Ports

none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications

radiotelephone service between islands and to Western Samoa

Note

defense is the responsibility of New Zealand

Agriculture

coconuts, copra; basic subsistence crops - breadfruit, papaya, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats

Budget

revenues $430,830; expenditures $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (FY87)

Currency

1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $24 million

Electricity

200 kW capacity; 300,000 kWh produced, 180 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.9486 (January 1993), 1.8584 (1992), l.7265 (1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6708 (1989), 1.5244 (1988)

Exports

$98,000 (f.o.b., 1983) commodities: stamps, copra, handicrafts partners: NZ

External debt

$0

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

Imports

$323,400 (c.i.f., 1983) commodities: foodstuffs, building materials, fuel partners: NZ

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

small-scale enterprises for copra production, wood work, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.4 million (1988 est.)

National product per capita

$800 (1988 est.)

National product real growth rate

NA%

Overview

Tokelau's small size, isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people must rely on aid from New Zealand to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 10 km2 land area: 10 km2 comparative area: about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Climate

tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November)

Coastline

101 km

Environment

lies in Pacific typhoon belt

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

NA km2

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%

Location

Oceania, 3,750 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand

Map references

Oceania

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

negligible

Terrain

coral atolls enclosing large lagoons

Administrative divisions

none (territory of New Zealand)

Capital

none; each atoll has its own administrative center

Constitution

administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970

Digraph

TL

Diplomatic representation in US

none (territory of New Zealand)

Elections

NA

Executive branch

British monarch, administrator (appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in New Zealand), official secretary

Flag

the flag of New Zealand is used

Independence

none (territory of New Zealand)

Judicial branch

High Court in Niue, Supreme Court in New Zealand

Leaders

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) Head of Government: Administrator Graham ANSELL (since NA 1990); Official Secretary Casimilo J. PEREZ (since NA), Office of Tokelau Affairs; Tokelau's governing Council will elect its first head of government in 1993

Legal system

British and local statutes

Legislative branch

unicameral Council of Elders (Taupulega) on each atoll

Member of

SPC, WHO (associate)

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Tokelau

National holiday

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

Political parties and leaders

NA

Suffrage

NA

Type

territory of New Zealand

US diplomatic representation

none (territory of New Zealand)

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population

Ethnic divisions

Polynesian

Infant mortality rate

NA deaths/1,000 live births

Labor force

NA

Languages

Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English

Life expectancy at birth

total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years

Literacy

total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: Tokelauan(s) adjective: Tokelauan

Net migration rate

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Population

1,544 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

-1.35% (1993 est.)

Religions

Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2% note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman