]! ^! Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,150 in 2005), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. 
]" ^" Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga ^# 19 02 S, 169 52 W ^$ Oceania ^% `! 260 sq km `" 260 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 64 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; modified by southeast trade winds ^+ steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m ^- fish, arable land ^. `' 15.38% `( 11.54% `) 73.08% (2001) ^/ NA ^0 typhoons ^1 increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification `L Law of the Sea ^2 one of world's largest coral islands 
]# ^3 2,166 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* NA `+ NA `, NA ^6 0% (2005 est.) ^7 NA births/1,000 population ^8 NA deaths/1,000 population ^9 NA migrant(s)/1,000 population ^: NA ^; `! NA `- NA `. NA ^< `1 NA `- NA `. NA ^= NA ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Niuean(s) `3 Niuean ^B Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) ^C Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (2001 census) ^D Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English ^E `M NA `1 95% `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Niue `X Savage Island ^G self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue 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 ^H self-governing parliamentary democracy ^I Alofi ^J none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order ^K on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand ^L Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) ^M 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) ^N English common law note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000) `7 Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) `8 Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers `9 the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held May 2008) `: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% ^Q unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives) `9 last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA ^R Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue ^S Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] ^T NA ^U ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO ^V none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) ^W none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) ^X 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 one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross 
]% ^Y The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. 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. 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, although former Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. Niue suffered a devastating hurricane in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. ^Z $7.6 million (2000 est.) ^[ -0.3% (2000 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) ^] `; NA `< NA `= 55% ^^ NA ^_ most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board ^` NA ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 1% (1995) _# `@ NA `A NA _$ coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle _% tourism, handicrafts, food processing _& NA _' 3 million kWh (2002) _( 2.79 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 20 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $137,200 (1999) _0 canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts _1 New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) _2 $2.38 million (1999) _3 food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs _4 New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) _5 $418,000 (2002 est.) _6 $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) _7 New Zealand dollar (NZD) _8 New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 1,100 est (2002) _; 400 (2002) _< `C single-line telephone system connects all villages on island `D country code - 683 _= AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 1 (1997) _? .nu _A NA 
]' _B `! 234 km `E 86 km `F 148 km (2001) _C none; offshore anchorage only _D 1 (2004 est.) _E `! 1 `^ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force _G defense is the responsibility of New Zealand 
]) _H none 