Niue (2001) | French Guiana (2004) | |
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 | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 11 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Alofi | Cayenne |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 64 km | 378 km |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | NA (1995) |
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. | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.8 million kWh (1999) | 423.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (1999) | 455 million kWh (2001) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
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) | Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total:
234 km paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 450 (1992 est.) | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English | French |
Legal system | English common law | French legal system |
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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Oceania | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Police Force | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | typhoons | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 2,124 (July 2001 est.) | 191,309 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 2.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
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) | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 376 (1991) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1991) | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | none | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |