Niue (2002) | Eritrea (2001) | |
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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 at the second order | 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, became effective in 1997; the new provinces, the names of which had not been recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the US Government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, were: Anseba, Debub, Debubawi Keyih Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri; more recently, it has been reported that these provinces have been redesignated regions and renamed Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, and Central |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years:
42.85% (male 922,691; female 918,916) 15-64 years: 53.87% (male 1,147,927; female 1,167,705) 65 years and over: 3.28% (male 71,232; female 69,798) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 20 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
18 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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 about 2,100 in 2002) with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. | 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 on 12 December 2000. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
$283.9 million expenditures: $351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | Asmara (formerly Asmera) |
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); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert |
Coastline | 64 km | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | the 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) | nakfa (ERN) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $281 million (2000 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 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | chief of mission:
Ambassador William D. CLARKE embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt 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 GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 |
Disputes - international | none | as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two-year war with Ethiopia, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) | $77 million (1999) |
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 will be about $2.6 million. | With independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road construction is a top domestic priority. In the long term, Eritrea may benefit from the development of offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. Eritrea's economic future depends on its ability to master fundamental social and economic problems, e.g., by reducing illiteracy, promoting job creation, expanding technical training, attracting foreign investment, and streamlining the bureaucracy. Eritrea's agriculture over the last two years was severely weakened by war and drought, and many farmlands must wait to be demined. Another major difficulty is the ports, which prior to the war were Ethiopia's preferred outlets but since have seen trade dry up. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.79 million kWh (2000) | 153.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (2000) | 165 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997) | nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) |
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 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 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI)30% |
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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next tentatively scheduled for December 2001) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
Exports | $137,200 (1999) | $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures |
Exports - partners | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) |
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 - $7.6 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
agriculture:
16% industry: 27% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.3% (2000 est.) | -1% (2000 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 |
Highways | total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
total:
3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.38 million (1999) | $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) |
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 |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) (1995) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 280 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts |
Labor force | NA | 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% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws |
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 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
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 country-wide elections to a National Assembly are held; only 75 members will be elected to the National Assembly - the other 75 will be members of the Central Committee of the PFDJ; parliamentary elections are now scheduled for NA December 2001 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population:
56.18 years male: 53.73 years female: 58.71 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
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 (2002 est.) | total:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $160 million (2000 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 29.4% (2000 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 | 7.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: according to the UNHCR, about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan have registered for voluntary repatriation, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Sudan in January 2000 |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon]; note - the National Assembly has appointed a committee to draft a law on political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD] |
Population | 2,134 (July 2002 est.) | 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2002 est.) | 3.84% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | 345,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge (1999) note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way |
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 | NA | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
general assessment:
NA domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 376 (1991) | 23,578 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1991) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
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 | 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |