ECONOMY
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 (1998 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 (March 1999)
Budget:
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Agriculture - products:
coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca),
sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle
Industries:
tourism, handicrafts, food processing
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Electricity - production:
3 million kWh (2001)
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)
Exports:
$137,200 (1999)
Exports - commodities:
canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products,
pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts
Exports - partners:
New Zealand 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:
New Zealand 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 - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002),
2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
