Pacific Islands News Association

Sports News : Great Britain set to face Tonga in New Zealand in first Test for 12 years [12/11/2018 - United Kingdom]
Business News : Pasifika families and businesses are big contributors to NZ economy: Finance Minister [12/11/2018 - New Zealand]
News : O’Neill: We must stand for Pacific [12/11/2018 - Papua New Guinea]
News : Trade, security on Ardern's agenda at APEC summit [12/11/2018 - New Zealand]
News : Parliament gets makeover for Xi meeting [12/11/2018 - Papua New Guinea]
News : New Zealand announces Pacific enabling fund [12/11/2018 - Niue]
Sports News : Kiwis, Mate Ma'a Tonga and Kangaroos to compete in top division of newly-unveiled Oceanic Cup next year [11/11/2018 - Australia]
Sports News : Australia and Fiji triumph at Oceania Rugby Sevens [11/11/2018 - Fiji]
Sports News : Tonga beats French Barbarians 49-38 in 13-try thriller [11/11/2018 - Tonga]
News : 10 Solomon Islands MPs investigated for corruption [11/11/2018 - Solomon Islands]
News : Australian PM and Defence ministers outline new Pacific engagement plan [11/11/2018 - Australia]
News : Marshalls’ President Heine calls no confidence vote reasons ‘a smokescreen’ [11/11/2018 - Marshall Islands]
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Country profile - Niue

Niue flag

The residents of the Pacific island of Niue are far outnumbered by their compatriots who have migrated to New Zealand.

Home to fewer than 2,000 islanders, the self-governing coral atoll is trying to encourage some of the 20,000 overseas Niueans - many of them New Zealand-born - to return.

Niue operates in free association with New Zealand, its main source of aid and its biggest trading partner. New Zealand is obliged under the island's constitution to provide "necessary economic and administrative assistance".

Aside from defence matters and foreign relations, Niue runs its own affairs. All Niueans are New Zealand citizens and can take up residency there.

The long-running population decline was aggravated by Cyclone Heta, which devastated the island in 2004. Some observers fear that the community's viability is threatened by migration.

Economic activity revolves around fishing, agriculture and tourism. Surrounded by a coral reef and with a rugged coastline, the island attracts whale-watchers, divers and yachting enthusiasts.

Technology-savvy Niue has embraced the internet. It earns money from the sale of its suffix and in 2003 it became the first territory to offer a free wireless internet service to all residents.

Lying between Tonga and the Cook Islands, Niue was settled by Samoans in the first century AD. Britain's Captain James Cook sighted the island in 1774, dubbing it "Savage Island" after locals thwarted his landing attempts.

British missionaries arrived in the 19th century and the island was subsequently administered from New Zealand. Niueans voted to become self-governing in 1974.

Additional information