1988 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1988 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical; modified by southeast trade winds
Coastline
64 km
Communists
the pro-Communist underground comprises a fraction of the small Nigerian left; leftist leaders are prominent in the country's central labor organization but have little influence on government
Comparative area
one and one-half times the size of Washington, D.C.
Environment
subject to typhoons
Ethnic divisions
Polynesian, with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans
Extended economic zone
200 nm
Land use
61% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 19% forest and woodland; 12% other
Member of
AfDB, APC, Commonwealth, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, Lake Chad Basin Commission, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Nationality
noun — Niuean(s); adjective — Niuean
Population
2,602 (July 1987), average annual growth rate -3.21%
Religion
75% Ekalesia Nieue (Niuean Church) — a Christian Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society, 10% Morman, 5% Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist
Special notes
one of world's largest coral islands
Terrain
steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
260 km2; land area: 260 km2
Economy
Agriculture
peanuts, cotton, cocoa, rubber, yams, cassava, sorghum, palm kernels, millet, corn, rice; livestock; an illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade
Budget
(1985) revenues, $15.0 billion; current expenditures, $12.0 billion; capital expenditures $5.0 billion
Electric power
4,900,000 kW capacity; 10,730 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$12.6 billion (f.o.b., 1985); oil (97%), cocoa, palm products, rubber, timber, tin
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 515,000 metric tons (1983); imports nonprocessed and processed fish
GDP
$53.4 billion (1985), $520 per capita; 1.0% growth rate (1985 est); 5% inflation rate (1985)
Imports
$8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1985); machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, wheat
Major industries
mining — crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, columbite; processing industries — oil palm, peanut, cotton, rubber, petroleum, wood, hides, skins; manufacturing industries — textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear, chemical, printing, ceramics
Major trade partners
UK, EC, US
Monetary conversion rate
3.3 naira=US$l (December 1986 market rate)
Natural resources
petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc
Communications
Airfields
88 total, 84 usable; 31 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force
Civil air
77 major transport aircraft
Highways
107,990 km total 30,019 km paved (mostly bituminous surface treatment); 25,411 km laterite, gravel, crushed stone, improved earth; 52,560 km unimproved
Inland waterways
8,575 km consisting of Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks
Military manpower
males 15-49, 25,027,000; 14,295,000 fit for military service; 1,164,000 reach military age (18) annually Set regional map X
Pipelines
2,042 km crude oil; 264 km natural gas; 3,000 km refined products
Ports
6 major (Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Warri, Onne, Sapele), 9 minor
Railroads
3,505 km 1.067-meter gauge
Telecommunications
above-average system limited by poor maintenance; major expansion in progress; radio-relay and cable routes; 155,000 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 37 AM, 9 FM, 34 TV stations; satellite station with Atlantic and Indian Ocean antennas, domestic satellite system with 19 stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable Defense Forces