Economy - overview:
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
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.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-0.3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 55%
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:
NA
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 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
2.79 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
20 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava
(tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle
Exports:
$137,200 (1999)
Exports - commodities:
canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit
products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts
Exports - partners:
NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000)
Imports:
$2.38 million (1999)
Imports - commodities:
food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels,
lubricants, chemicals, drugs
Imports - partners:
NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000)
Debt - external:
$418,000 (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$2.6 million from New Zealand (2002)
Currency:
New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Currency code:
NZD
Exchange rates:
New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001),
2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March