Niue (2004) | Albania (2003) | |
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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 | 12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Qarku i Beratit, Qarku i Dibres, Qarku i Durresit, Qarku i Elbasanit, Qarku i Fierit, Qarku i Gjirokastres, Qarku i Korces, Qarku i Kukesit, Qarku i Lezhes, Qarku i Shkodres, Qarku i Tiranes, Qarku i Vlores |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.1% (male 520,714; female 486,911)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 1,115,887; female 1,196,477) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 115,754; female 146,462) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 12 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28,748 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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 2004), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. | Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged legislative elections in 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies that should be addressed through reforms in the Albanian electoral code. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.2 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | Tirana |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 64 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | lek (ALL) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $418,000 (2002 est.) | $784 million (2000) |
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 James F. JEFFREY
embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Washington, DC 20521-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 232222 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Fatos TARIFA
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
Disputes - international | none | the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro, and in the northern Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, while continuing to seek regional cooperation; some outside ethnic Albanian groups voice union with Albania |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) | ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.) |
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 was about $2.6 million. | Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to spur economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy; this helps offset the sizable trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business, increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring inflation. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages. In addition, the government is moving to improve the poor national road network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.79 million kWh (2001) | 5.898 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 221 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (2001) | 5.289 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 2.9%
hydro: 97.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb, and Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization) |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) | leke per US dollar - NA (2002), 143.49 (2001), 143.71 (2000), 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998) |
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 of the Republic Alfred MOISIU (since 24 July 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Fatos NANO (since 31 July 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alfred MOISIU elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 116, for 97, against 19 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) | Italy 76.6%, Germany 5.6%, Greece 2.7% (2002) |
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 with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15.69 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 27% services: 24% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.3% (2000 est.) | 7.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) | Italy 39.4%, Greece 24.5%, Turkey 6%, Germany 5% (2002) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
total: 37.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 39.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 34.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 10 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,400 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | NA (1998 est.) | 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
arable land: 21.09%
permanent crops: 4.45% other: 74.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
has not accepted 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 21 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 June 2001 with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, NDP 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, NDP 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH 3, PAD 3, independents 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
total population: 72.37 years
male: 69.53 years female: 75.42 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 93.3% female: 79.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 21,954 GRT/34,412 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 11, roll on/roll off 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Honduras 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $56.5 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.49% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 906,168 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 742,837 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 36,985 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] | Agrarian Party of Albania or PASH [Lufter XHUVELI]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI]; Communist Party of Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI]; Democratic Alliance or PAD [Nerltan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Guri DUROLLARI]; National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Abaz ERMENJI]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQUIRI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Social Democracy or DS [Paskal MILO]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albanian Party of Labor) [Fatos NANO]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Omonia [Vangjel DULES] |
Population | 2,156 (July 2004 est.) | 3,582,205 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.01% (2004 est.) | 1.03% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
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 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice |
Sex ratio | NA (2004 est.) | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
general assessment: Albania has the poorest telephone service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants; it is doubtful that every village has telephone service
domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the Communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,100 est (2002) | 120,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400 (2002) | 250,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.22 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (March 1999) | 17% officially; may be as high as 30% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |