Capital: Alofi
Largest village: Hakupu
Languages: Niuean and English (offcial)
Area: 260 Sq km
Population: Above 1,400
GDP (PPP): Estimate $10 million
Niue is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand and within the triangle formed by Tonga, the Samoas and the Cook Islands. Niue is in "Associated state" free association with New Zealand, and most of its diplomatic relations is conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf. All Niueans are New Zealand citizens and Queen Elizabeth II is Niue's head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. 90–95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language.
In the area of trade, Niue is currently in the process of negotiating with other Pacific countries free trade agreements, PICTA Trade in Services, Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, and PACER Plus with Australia and New Zealand.
The Office of the Chief Trade Adviser has already been set up to assist Niue and other Pacific countries in the negotiation of the PACER Plus. Niue uses the New Zealand dollar.
Agriculture is very important to the lifestyle of Niueans and the economy, and around 204 square kilometers of Niue's total land area are available for agriculture. Subsistence agriculture is very much part of Niue's agriculture, where nearly all the households have plantations of taro. Taro is a staple food, and the pink taro now dominant in the taro markets in New Zealand and Australia is an intellectual property of Niue. This is one of the natural taro varieties on Niue, and has a strong resistance to pests. Tourism has been identified as one of the three priority economic sectors (the other two are fisheries and agriculture) for economic development in Niue.