Economy of Niue

The economy of Niue is heavily dependent on aid from New Zealand. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by grants from New Zealand which are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half.

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. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry. Another source of income lately has been the sale of Internet domain names under the NU top level domain, which are particularly popular in Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands, since "nu" means "now" in the Scandinavian languages and Dutch.

GDP:purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1994 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:NA%

GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity - $2,250 (1994 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
"agriculture:"NA%
"industry:"NA%
"services:"NA%

Population below poverty line:NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
"lowest 10%:"NA%
"highest 10%:"NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):1% (1995)

Labor force:450 (1992 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board

Unemployment rate:NA%

Budget:
"revenues:"$NA
"expenditures:"$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries:tourism, handicrafts, food processing

Industrial production growth rate:NA%

Electricity - production:3 GWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
"fossil fuel:"100%
"hydro:"0%
"nuclear:"0%
"other:"0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption:3 GWh (1998)

Electricity - exports:0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports:0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products:
coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle

Exports:$117,500 (f.o.b., 1989)

Exports - commodities:canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts

Exports - partners:
New Zealand 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia

Imports:$4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989)

Imports - commodities:food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs

Imports - partners:
New Zealand 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, United States

Debt - external:$NA

Economic aid - recipient:$8.3 million (1995)

Currency:1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates:New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.9451 (January 2000), 1.8889 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996), 1.5235 (1995)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

:"See also :" Niue