Australia (2007) | Niue (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.3% (male 2,023,375/female 1,929,229)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 6,945,068/female 6,831,653) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 1,197,494/female 1,507,357) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 461 (2007) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 317
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 138 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 144
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 109 under 914 m: 16 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. | 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 2,166 in 2006), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $268.2 billion
expenditures: $257.3 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $15.07 million
expenditures: $16.33 million; including capital expenditures of $123,700 |
Capital | name: Canberra
geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 13 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March note: Australia is divided into three time zones |
name: Alofi
geographic coordinates: 19 01 S, 169 55 W time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Death rate | 7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $628.1 billion (2006 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | 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 |
Dependent areas | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr.
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Timor-Leste and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia in the Timor Sea; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore and Cartier Islands; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certain catch; regional states continue to express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers or roughly thirty percent of its claimed exclusive economic zone; since 2003, Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Robust business and consumer confidence and high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. Drought and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up in recent years, although the trade balance improved in 2006. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus since 2002. | 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 emigration to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although the International Banking Repeal Act of 2002 resulted in the termination of all offshore banking licenses. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about US$2 million. Niue suffered a devastating typhoon in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 219.8 billion kWh (2005) | 2.79 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 236.7 billion kWh (2005) | 3 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Kevin RUDD (since 3 December 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Julia GILLARD (since 3 December 2007) cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: 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) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% |
Exports | 333,200 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Japan 19.6%, China 12.3%, South Korea 7.5%, US 6.2%, India 5.5%, NZ 5.5%, UK 5% (2006) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 26.2% services: 70.1% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 23.5%
industry: 26.9% services: 49.5% (2003) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2006 est.) | 6.2% |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines | - |
Imports | 611,400 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | China 14.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 6%, Germany 5.1% (2006) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.5% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2006 est.) | 4% (2005) |
International organization participation | ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, FAO, IFAD, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 25,450 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 10.74 million (2006 est.) | NA 663 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.) |
note: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005) |
arable land: 11.54%
permanent crops: 15.38% other: 73.08% (2005) |
Languages | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | English common law; note - Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be held no later than 2010); House of Representatives - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be called no later than 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37, Australian Labor Party 32, Australian Greens 5, Family First Party 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Australian Labor Party 80, Liberal Party 50, National Party 10, independents 2, undecided 8 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; 6 elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.62 years
male: 77.75 years female: 83.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,322,527 GRT/1,501,865 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 5, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 16 (Canada 2, France 1, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 5) registered in other countries: 29 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 3, Bermuda 4, Fiji 1, The Gambia 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 4, Singapore 6, Tonga 1, UK 1, US 2, Vanuatu 2, unknown 1) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command (2006) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | typhoons |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Brendan NELSON]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS] | Alliance of Independents or AI; Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 20,434,176 (July 2007 est.) | 2,166 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.824% (2007 est.) | 0.01% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 38,550 km
broad gauge: 3,727 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 20,519 km 1.435-m gauge (1,877 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,074 km 1.067-m gauge (2,453 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census) | 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) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.794 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; the Southern Cross fiber optic submarine cable provides links to New Zealand and the United States; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2007) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9.94 million (2006) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 19.76 million (2006) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 4.9% (2006 est.) | 12% NA% |
Waterways | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006) | - |