Niue
parliamentary democracy
Niue as the 2022 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 124 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Voyagers from Samoa first settled on Niue around A.D. 900 and a second main group of settlers came from Tonga around 1500. With only one reliable source of fresh water, conflict was high on the island. There was continued contact with both Samoa and Tonga, and customs from those islands heavily influenced Niuean culture, including the formation of an island-wide kingship system in the early 1700s. These kings, or patu-iki, were elected by Niueans.
In 1774, British explorer James COOK abandoned attempts to land on the island after several unsuccessful tries, and he named it Savage Island because of the warlike appearance of the Niueans. Missionaries arrived in 1830 but were also largely unsuccessful at staying on the island until 1846, when a Niuean trained as a Samoan missionary returned to the island and provided a space from which the missionaries could work. In addition to converting the population, the missionaries worked to stop the violent conflicts between Niueans and helped establish the first parliament in 1849.
In 1889, King FATAAIKI and other chiefs asked the UK for protectorate status, a request that was repeated in 1895. The UK finally agreed in 1900 and King TOGIA-PULU-TOAKI formally ceded Niue that year. In 1901, Niue was annexed to New Zealand and included as part of the Cook Islands. Niue’s remoteness and cultural and linguistic differences with the Cook Islands led New Zealand to separate Niue into its own administration in 1904.
The island became internally self-governing in 1974; it is an independent member of international organizations but is in free association with New Zealand, which is responsible for defense and foreign affairs.
Economic opportunities in Niue are sparse. The population has trended downwards over recent decades, with substantial emigration to New Zealand. In 2004, a cyclone destroyed much of the southern part of the capital, Alofi, and left about 15% of the population homeless. Many chose not to rebuild and instead moved to New Zealand (2,400 km to the southwest), where approximately 90% of all ethnic Niueans live.
Geography
Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga
17 fieldsLand useshare of 260 sq km
Geography - note
one of world's largest coral islands; the only major break in the surrounding coral reef occurs in the central western part of the coast
People and Society
29 fieldsNote
Ethnic groups(2017 est.)
Religions(2017 est.)
Languages
Niuean (official) 46% (a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan), Niuean and English 32%, English (official) 11%, Niuean and others 5%, other 6% (2011 est.)
Dependency ratios
- total dependency ratio:
- 70.4
- youth dependency ratio:
- 44.9
- elderly dependency ratio:
- 25.4
- potential support ratio:
- 3.9 (2021)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- high (2020)
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial diarrhea
- vectorborne diseases:
- malaria
Alcohol consumption per capita
- total:
- 8.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- beer:
- 4.28 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- wine:
- 1.89 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- spirits:
- 2.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- other alcohols:
- 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Environment
8 fieldsLand use(2018 est.)
Environment - current issues
increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
Urbanization
- urban population:
- 48.2% of total population (2023)
- rate of urbanization:
- 1.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- high (2020)
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial diarrhea
- vectorborne diseases:
- malaria
Government
Parliamentary democracy; King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); Premier Dalton TAGELAGI (since 10 June 2020)
20 fieldsAssembly or Fono Ekepule, 20 seats, elected 30 May 2020one dot, one seat
Composition: men 17, women 3, percent of women 15%
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Niue
- former:
- Savage Island
- etymology:
- the origin of the name is obscure; in Niuean, the word supposedly translates as "behold the coconut"
note: pronunciation falls between nyu-way and new-way, but not like new-wee
Dependency status
- self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974;
- Niue is 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
Capital
- name:
- Alofi
- geographic coordinates:
- 19 01 S, 169 55 W
- time difference:
- UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions
none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order
Independence
19 October 1974 (Niue became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand)
National holiday
Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)
Constitution
- history:
- several previous (New Zealand colonial statutes); latest 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act 1974)
- amendments:
- proposed by the Assembly;
- passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly membership in each of three readings and approval by at least two-thirds majority votes in a referendum;
- passage of amendments to a number of sections, including Niue’s self-governing status, British nationality and New Zealand citizenship, external affairs and defense, economic and administrative assistance by New Zealand, and amendment procedures, requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly and at least two thirds of votes in a referendum;
- amended 1992, 2007;
- note - in early 2021, the constitution review committee of the Assembly requested suggestions from the public about changes to the constitution
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022);
- represented by Governor-General of New Zealand Cindy KIRO (since 21 October 2021);
- the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner Helen TUNNAH (since July 2020)
- head of government:
- Premier Dalton TAGELAGI (since 10 June 2020)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet chosen by the premier
- elections/appointments:
- the monarchy is hereditary;
- premier indirectly elected by the Legislative Assembly for a 3-year term;
- election last held on 10 June 2020 (next to be held in 2023)
- election results:
- Dalton TAGELAGI elected premier;
- Legislative Assembly vote - Dalton TAGELAGI (independent) 13, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 7;
- Toke TALAGI lost his seat in election
Legislative branch
- description:
- unicameral Assembly or Fono Ekepule (20 seats; 14 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 6 directly elected from the National Register or "common roll" by majority vote; members serve 3-year terms)
- elections:
- last held on 30 May 2020 (next to be held on 2023)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - independent 20;
- composition - men 17, women 3, percent of women 15%
Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
- Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and up to 3 judges);
- note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) is the final appeal court beyond the Niue Court of Appeal
- judge selection and term of office:
- Niue chief justice appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet and tendered by the premier;
- other judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet and tendered by the chief justice and the minister of justice;
- judges serve until age 68
- subordinate courts:
- High Court
note: Niue is a participant in the Pacific Judicial Development Program, which is designed to build governance and the rule of law in 15 Pacific island countries
International organization participation
ACP, AOSIS, FAO, IFAD, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
Diplomatic representation from the US
embassy: none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
Flag description
- 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 star on a blue disk in the center and a smaller star on each arm of the bold red cross;
- the larger star stands for Niue, the smaller stars recall the Southern Cross constellation on the New Zealand flag and symbolize links with that country;
- yellow represents the bright sunshine of Niue and the warmth and friendship between Niue and New Zealand
National anthem
- name:
- "Ko e Iki he Lagi" (The Lord in Heaven)
- lyrics/music:
- unknown/unknown, prepared by Sioeli FUSIKATA
note: adopted 1974
Economy
The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population.
26 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2003)
Budget(FY04/05)
Economic overview
The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories for processing passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue.
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. Economic aid allocation from New Zealand in FY13/14 was US$10.1 million. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half.
The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of emigration to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and financial services, although the International Banking Repeal Act of 2002 resulted in the termination of all offshore banking licenses.
Agricultural products
coconuts, taro, fruit, sweet potatoes, tropical fruit, yams, vegetables, lemons, limes, bananas
Labor force - by occupation
note: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board
Exports - commodities
tanker ships, fruit juice, thermostats, textiles, measurement devices/appliances (2019)
Exchange rates
New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar - 1.416 (2017 est.) · 1.4279 (2016 est.) · 1.4279 (2015) · 1.4279 (2014 est.) · 1.2039 (2013 est.)
Energy
10 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 3,000 kW(2020 est.)
Coal
- production:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- consumption:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- exports:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- imports:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
Petroleum
- total petroleum production:
- 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
- refined petroleum consumption:
- 100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate exports:
- 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate imports:
- 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil estimated reserves:
- 0 barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas
- production:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- consumption:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- exports:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- imports:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
8,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from coal and metallurgical coke:
- 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from petroleum and other liquids:
- 8,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from consumed natural gas:
- 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
Communications
5 fieldsPer 100 inhabitants(2018–19 est.)
Telecommunication systems
- general assessment:
- in 2020, the Manatua One Polynesia Fiber Cable provided Niue with high speed Internet access for the first time replacing a 4 megabit satellite link with gigabit fiber connectivity;
- the government set out a strategy to upgrade to a new infrastructure that would be robust enough to operate reliably in a challenging climate: 40 40°C heat, 40% humidity, salty air, frequent power outages during storms, and no air conditioning (2022)
- domestic:
- single-line (fixed line) telephone system connects all villages on island; fixed teledensity at nearly 62 per 100 (2018)
- international:
- country code - 683;
- landing point for the Manatua submarine cable linking Niue to several South Pacific Ocean Islands;
- expansion of satellite services (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production;
progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
Broadcast media
1 government-owned TV station with many of the programs supplied by Television New Zealand; 1 government-owned radio station broadcasting in AM and FM (2019)
Transportation
5 fieldsMerchant marine, 69 ships by typeone square, one ship · (2021)
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Military and Security
No regular indigenous military forces; Police Force
2 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Niue.” The World Factbook 2022. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/niue/2022.