Niue Geography Profile 2008

Location

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga

Geographic coordinates

19 02 S, 169 52 W

Map references

Oceania

Area

total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

64 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds

Terrain

steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m

Natural resources

fish, arable land

Land use

arable land: 11.54%
permanent crops: 15.38%
other: 73.08% (2005)

Irrigated land

NA

Natural hazards

typhoons

Environment - current issues

increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture

Environment - international agreements

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

one of world's largest coral islands