Economy of Niue
The economy of Niue is heavily dependent upon 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.
Local economic activity
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.
Economic statistics
GDP: purchasing power parity - $10 million (2003)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2003)
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: c.$200,000 (2003)
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: c.$9 million (2003)
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
References
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