Alofi, Niue
Notice anything different about the description of where we are? Normally we give you the city, the island and the country. In Niue though, the island IS the country. With a total number of 1 island and a total population of approximately 1300 citizens in country at any one time, this island-nation is a very different experience from the other countries we have visited so far. There are more Niueans in the main New Zealand city of Auckland than there are in Niue. It’s actually kind of funny because the Miss Niue beauty pageant is actually held in Auckland and broadcast live over the internet & TV back to the home country.
This isn’t too surprising being as all Niueans are dual citizens of New Zealand, there are only so many jobs a nation of 1300 people can support, and finally, Niue, along with The Cook Islands and quite a few other island chains out here are all protectorates of New Zealand. This basically means that, though the Kiwis play it down a lot, the tiny little country of New Zealand is a major regional power player in the South Pacific. It’s basically France, the USA and NZ that own something like 80% of the islands out here. Which is really impressive that: Continue reading “National Population – 1300”
