Niue:
Geography

Click to enlarge

Pages for other countries and territories

Other pages in this profile of Niue:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition 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 an estimated 1,444 in 2008), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest.

Location	Definition Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga
Geographic coordinates	Definition 19 02 S, 169 52 W
Map references	Definition Oceania
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	Definition 0 km
Coastline	Definition 64 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Definition tropical; modified by southeast trade winds
Terrain	Definition steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m
Natural resources	Definition fish, arable land
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 11.54% permanent crops: 15.38% other: 73.08% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition NA
Natural hazards	Definition typhoons
Environment - current issues	Definition increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition one of world's largest coral islands