West Bank (2006) | Niue (2001) | |
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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides. | 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. |
Birth rate | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | - | Alofi |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 64 km |
Constitution | - | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002) | $NA |
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) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | $8.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 2.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) | 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) |
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% |
Exports | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | one of world's largest coral islands |
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 | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US |
Independence | - | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 614,000 (April-June 2005) | 450 (1992 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24% services: 57.6% (April-June 2005) |
most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English |
Legal system | - | English common law |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | - | Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | - | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | droughts | typhoons |
Natural resources | arable land | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | - | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
2,124 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.06% (2006 est.) | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | 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) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |