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. In September 2023, the US recognized Niue as a sovereign and independent state.
land: 260 sq km
water: 0 sq km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
arable land: 3.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 11.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 3.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 71.2% (2018 est.)
other: 9.7% (2018 est.)
2,000 (July 2022 est.)
note: because of the island’s limited economic and educational opportunities, Niueans have emigrated for decades - primarily to New Zealand, but also to Australia and other Pacific island states; Niue’s population peaked in 1966 at 5,194, but by 2005 had fallen to 1,508; since then it has rebounded slightly; as of 2013, 23,883 people of Niuean ancestry lived in New Zealand - with more than 20% Niue-born; this means that there are about 15 times as many persons of Niuean ancestry living in New Zealand as in Niue, possibly the most eccentric population distribution in the world
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean
Niuean 65.4%, part-Niuean 14%, non-Niuean 20.6% (2017 est.)
note: data represent the resident population
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.)
Ekalesia Niue (Congregational Christian Church of Niue - a Protestant church founded by missionaries from the London Missionary Society) 61.7%, Church of Jesus Christ 8.7%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Jehovah’s Witness 2.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.2%, none 8.9% (2017 est.)
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
total dependency ratio: 70.4
youth dependency ratio: 44.9
elderly dependency ratio: 25.4
potential support ratio: 3.9 (2021)
-0.03% (2021 est.)
NA
(2021 est.) NA
(2021 est.)
population distributed around the peripheral coastal areas of the island
urban population: 48.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1,000 ALOFI (capital) (2018)
NA
total: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
(2021 est.) NA
NA
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 97% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 3% of population (2020 est.)
7.8% of GDP (2020)
NA
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 95.5% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 4.5% of population (2020 est.)
50% (2016)
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.)
NA
NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
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, 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
tropical; modified by southeast trade winds
agricultural land: 19.1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 3.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 11.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 3.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 71.2% (2018 est.)
other: 9.7% (2018 est.)
urban population: 48.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 6.74 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
0 cubic meters (2017 est.)
upper-middle-income self-governing New Zealand territorial economy; environmentally fragile; massive emigration; post-pandemic tourism rebound; postage stamps, small-scale agricultural processing, and subsistence farming; most recent Asian Development Bank member
$18.7 million (2021 est.)
$19.9 million (2020 est.)
$20.9 million (2019 est.)
6.2% (2003 est.)
$11,100 (2021 est.)
$11,800 (2020 est.)
$12,400 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2009 dollars
$10.01 million (2003) (2003)
4% (2005)
agriculture: 23.5% (2003)
industry: 26.9% (2003)
services: 49.5% (2003)comparison rankings:
coconuts, taro, fruit, sweet potatoes, tropical fruit, yams, vegetables, lemons, limes, bananas
handicrafts, food processing
NA
663 (2001)
12% (2001)
NA
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $15.07 million (FY04/05)
expenditures: $16.33 million (FY04/05)
-12.6% (of GDP) (FY04/05)
1 April - 31 March
$5.68 million (2021 est.)
$201,400 (2004 est.)
Indonesia 57%, Thailand 7%, South Korea 5%, Czechia 4%, Poland 4% (2021)
tanker ships, collector’s items, commemorative coins, fruits, nuts, juice, electrical resistors (2021)
$43.8 million (2021 est.)
$9.038 million (2004 est.)
New Zealand 41%, United Kingdom 40%, Japan 15%, Israel 3%, Fiji 1% (2021)
floating platforms, tugboats, refined petroleum, cargo ships, cars, plasticware (2021)
$418,000 (2002 est.)
New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1.416 (2017 est.)
1.4279 (2016 est.)
1.4279 (2015)
1.4279 (2014 est.)
1.2039 (2013 est.)
installed generating capacity: 3,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 2.6 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 400,000 kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
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.)
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.)
0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
54 bbl/day (2015 est.)
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.)
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.)
0 Btu/person (2019 est.)
1 (2021)
1
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
total: 234 km (2017)
paved: 210 km (2017)
unpaved: 24 km
total: 71 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 2, general cargo 29, oil tanker 4, other 32
major seaport(s): Alofi
manyapis