Pacific Islands News Association

News Feature : Courage needed to stop sexual abuse epidemic in Samoa [21/09/2017 - Samoa]
News Feature : Pacific governments commit to advance early childhood development to provide the best start to life for all children [21/09/2017 - Fiji]
Business News : IFC-led survey reveals value of PNG’s Tourism sector [21/09/2017 - Papua New Guinea]
News : Nauru President calls on North Korea to have dialogue with disputing countries in the Korean Peninsula [21/09/2017 - United States]
News : Least Developed Countries Group Push for Decisive Climate Action at United Nations General Assembly [21/09/2017 - United States]
News : Ballot date set for Fiji's Confederation of Public Sector Unions [21/09/2017 - Fiji]
News Feature : Milestone moment for Nuclear free Pacific [21/09/2017 - Fiji]
News Feature : ‘UN reformer’ Guterres must do more on climate change [21/09/2017 - United States]
News Feature : The US proposes to expose key Pacific marine protected areas to commercial fishing [21/09/2017 - Samoa]
Business News : Samoa Airways set for Auckland to Faleolo Airport maiden flight [21/09/2017 - Samoa]
Business News : PNG Mining Tuke optimistic about Mining Act review [21/09/2017 - Papua New Guinea]
News : Haitian President backs Paris climate accord [21/09/2017 - United States]
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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