Niue (2004) | Vietnam (2002) | |
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 | 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 13,259,152; female 12,392,089)
15-64 years: 62.9% (male 24,938,098; female 26,083,681) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 1,749,531; female 2,675,865) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 34 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Area | total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
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. | France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.89 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $5.3 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | Hanoi |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) |
Coastline | 64 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | 15 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | dong (VND) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.14 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $418,000 (2002 est.) | $13.2 billion (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 Raymond F. BURGHARDT
embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador Nguyen Tam CHIEN
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Vietnam disputes several offshore islands with Cambodia, preventing delimitation of a maritime boundary; Cambodia accuses Vietnam of territorial encroachments and initiating armed border incidents in seven provinces; demarcation of boundaries with Laos is nearing completion, but Laos protests Vietnamese squatters; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary with China in the Gulf of Tonkin still awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; demarcation of the land boundary with China has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
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. | Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6.8% in 2000 and dropped back to 4.7% in 2001 against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.79 million kWh (2001) | 23.97 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (2001) | 25.775 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 41%
hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) | dong per US dollar - 15,085 (January 2002), 14,725 (2001), 14,168 (2000), 13,943 (1999), 13,268 (1998), 11,683 (1997) |
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 Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Vu KHOAN (since NA) and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 24 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in May 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $15.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) | Japan 18.1%, China 10.6%, Australia 8.8%, Singapore 6.1%, Taiwan 5.2%, Germany 5.1%, US 5.1% (2000) |
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 large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $168.1 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 35% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.3% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
Highways | total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
Imports | NA (2001) | $15.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) | Singapore 17.7%, Japan 14.4%, Taiwan 12.1%, South Korea 11.1%, China 9.1%, Thailand 5.2%, Hong Kong 3.9% (2000) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 10.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
29.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | -0.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | NA (1998 est.) | 38.2 million (1998 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 67%, industry and services 33% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
arable land: 17.41%
permanent crops: 4.71% other: 77.88% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
based on communist legal theory and French civil law 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 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 National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (498 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the 10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
total population: 69.86 years
male: 67.4 years female: 72.5 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | total: 153 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 782,912 GRT/1,173,186 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 113, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cambodia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, United Kingdom 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force | People's Army of Vietnam (includes Ground Forces, People's Navy Command [including Naval Infantry], Air and Air Defense Force, Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 22,220,891 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 13,978,653 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 961,124 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | typhoons | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 150 km |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 2,156 (July 2004 est.) | 81,098,416 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.01% (2004 est.) | 1.43% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Radios | - | 8.2 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 3,142 km
standard gauge: 209 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,625 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 308 km three-rail track combining 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (2001) |
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) | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
Sex ratio | NA (2004 est.) | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 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: country code - 683 |
general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,100 est (2002) | 2.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400 (2002) | 730,155 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.44 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (March 1999) | 25% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |