Economy—overview: The economy is heavily dependent on aid and remittances from New Zealand as Niue has no indigenous export products. 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$2.4 million (1993 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: NA%

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$1,200 (1993 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): 5% (1992)

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: $5.5 million
expenditures: $6.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985 est.)

Industries: tourism, handicrafts, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity—production: 3 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 3 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

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, pawpaw, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts

Exports—partners: NZ 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: NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US

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—1.8560 (January 1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994)

Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March