Niue

Official nameNiue
Name in local languageNiue (en) ; Niuē Fekai (niu)
ContinentOceania
SubcontinentOceania
Population (ranking: 246e)2,545 inhabitants (2019)
Population growth10.50 % / year
Area261 km²
Density9.75 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 234e)0.010 billions $USD (2003)
GDP/capita (ranking)5,436 $USD (2003)
GDP growth0.00 % / year (2003)
Life expectancy (ranking)69.50 years (2005)
Birth rate0.00 ‰ (2018)
Fertility rate0.00 children / woman (2018)
Death rate (ranking)0.00 ‰ (2018)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)17.50 ‰ (2005)
Literacy rate98.00 % (2005)
Official languagesNiuean, English
CurrencyNew Zealand dollar ($ NZD)
HDI (ranking: 95e)0.794 / 1 (2008)
EPI (ranking)0.00 (2018)
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy under a non-partisan democracy
Head of StateQueen Elizabeth II ; Governor General Dame Patricia Reddy
National Day6 February (Waitangi, treaty establishing British sovereignty over New Zealand, 1840) ; 19 October (autonomy in 1974)
ISO CodesNU, NIU
DemonymNiuean
Tourists (ranking)10,000 people (2017)
Niue – petite

Niue is a particularly isolated coral atoll, located in the South Pacific Ocean, more than 2400 kilometers from New Zealand, country with which it has been in free association since 1974. The inhabitants are citizens of New Zealand and therefore have dual nationality. The island is at the center of a triangle formed by Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands. She survives only thanks to financial support from her “big brother”.

Coastal arch, Niue
Coastal arch, Niue. Photo: Msdstefan
Coast of Niue
Coast of Niue. Photo: fearlessRich

Niue does not lack resources, but the population has deserted the island for decades. About 22,000 Niueans live outside the country, almost all in New Zealand. In the coming years, its main objective is to develop tourism and exports, especially of wood and fishing (it has an exclusive economic zone of about 450,000 km2), to bring back part of the population. A strategy that is beginning to bear fruit, with several hundred people having started to return to settle on the island, which has significantly increased population growth.

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Urban areas (2019)
Urban areasPopulation
Alofi1,997 inhabitants
See all urban areas
See also