Niue (2001) | Eritrea (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages each with its own village council whose members are elected and serve three-year terms | 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 43.5% (male 1,073,404/female 1,060,674)
15-64 years: 52.9% (male 1,286,613/female 1,310,294) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 85,052/female 90,548) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 18 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Pennsylvania |
Background | 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 2,100 in 2000) with substantial emigration to New Zealand. | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002. However, both parties have been unable to reach agreement on implementing the decision. In November 2006, the international commission informed Eritrea and Ethiopia they had one year to demarcate the border or the border demarcation would be based on coordinates. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $234.6 million
expenditures: $424.7 million (2006 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | name: Asmara (Asmera)
geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 56 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands |
Coastline | 64 km | 2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km) |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 9.36 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $311 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald MCMULLEN
embassy: 179 Ala Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador GHIRMAI Ghebremariam
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
Disputes - international | none | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision but, neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting eastern Sudanese rebel groups |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $355.2 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country, accentuated by the recent implementation of restrictive economic policies. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. In January 2005, the government essentially banned all imports. The government strictly controls the use of foreign currency, limiting access and availability. Few private enterprises remain in Eritrea. Eritrea's economy is heavily dependent on taxes paid by members of the diaspora. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military continue to interfere with agricultural production, and Eritrea's recent harvests have not been able to meet the food needs of the country. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and more importantly, on the government's willingness to support a true market economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.8 million kWh (1999) | 228 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (1999) | 274 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 15.4 (2006), 14.5 (2005), 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002)
note: the official exchange rate is 15 nakfa to the dollar |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000) head of government: Premier Sani LAKATANI (since 1 April 1999) 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 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: Sani LAKATANI elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993) cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); the most recent and only election held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%, other 5% |
Exports | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) |
Exports - partners | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia | Italy 26.7%, France 13.8%, Australia 8.2%, Sudan 7.9%, US 7.8%, China 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Jordan 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 21.9%
industry: 22.6% services: 55.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 15 00 N, 39 00 E |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
234 km paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US | Italy 15.8%, Saudi Arabia 15.7%, China 15.6%, Netherlands 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, Germany 5.3% (2006) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | total: 45.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | 15% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 210 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts |
Labor force | 450 (1992 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.78%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.19% (2005) |
Languages | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | English common law | primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; government also issues unilateral proclamations setting laws and policies; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Islamic law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11 |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 59.55 years
male: 57.88 years female: 61.28 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,529 GRT/15,023 DWT
by type: cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6.3% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) |
Nationality | noun:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
Natural hazards | typhoons | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afworki] (the only party recognized by the government); note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]; Eritrean Democratic Party (EDP) [HAGOS, Mesfin] |
Population | 2,124 (July 2001 est.) | 4,906,585 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 2.461% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.939 male(s)/female total population: 0.993 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
primitive system domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island international: NA |
general assessment: inadequate
domestic: inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist |
Telephones - main lines in use | 376 (1991) | 37,700 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1991) | 62,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (2006) |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 4.96 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |