This report is based on the analysis of the Niue 2015–2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey
(HIES). This is the second poverty report of its kind.

Full Report is available here:

Source: Annex 1: Summary Tables, Page 27, Niue: the state of poverty and vulnerability in households: challenges and recommendations – results from the 2015–2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES)

Source: Annex 1: Summary Tables, Page 27, Niue: the state of poverty and vulnerability in households: challenges and recommendations – results from the 2015–2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES)

Main points:

  • The main source of employment comes from the public sector as about 40% of the population aged 15 years and older are employed in public sector followed by those employed in the private sector (15%).
  • BNPL HHs and individuals are considered as extremely poor if their expenditure falls below the FPL; poor if they are below the BNPL; highly vulnerable to becoming poor if their expenditure is 20% or less above the BNPL; moderately vulnerable if their expenditure is between 20–50% above the BNPL; slightly vulnerable if their expenditure is between 50–100% above the BNPL; non poor if their expenditure level is more than 50% above the BNPL
  • Poverty depth and severity measures are complementary to measures of poverty incidence
  • BNPL poverty incidence was 4.8% (81 persons). This longitudinal comparison suggests a clear poverty incidence reduction over time
  • Compared to other Pacific Island countries Niue has the lowest poverty incidence
  • The depth of poverty in Niue, is relatively low, with a PGI of 1.6
  • Those that are in poverty in 2016 are in a worse condition than their counterparts in 2002.
  • PGI squared of 0.6 suggests low levels of poverty severity
  • Slightly vulnerable people are around a quarter of the total population and a third of all HHs.
  • Of persons living with a disability, 6% live below the BNPL and one-third of all those living with a disability are at least slightly vulnerable or poor.
  • For those living below the BNPL, the proportion that are living with some underlying health problem is nearly 30%
  • The higher the importance of wages as a source of income, the higher HH expenditure.
  • While the people living under the poverty lines are predominantly elderly women, the poorest among the poor are elderly males
  • The average weekly per capita HH expenditure is NZD 195.42
  • The total HH consumption expenditure of HHs living below BNPL amounted to NZD 387,518 per annum
  • Most HHs, regardless of poverty or vulnerability status, spend the majority of their income on non-food items
  • The poorest HHs spend proportionally more – 14% – on food than the higher income HHs
  • Subsistence and own production food consumption makes up a small proportion of total HH consumption expenditure for HHs living below BNPL.
  • The poor and vulnerable HHs spend a large share of their consumption on housing costs.
  • Two-thirds of HHs living below the BNPL own their home without a mortgage and most of the remaining one-third reside in their home for free
  • Half of the HHs in the highest deciles account for 80% of total HH consumption expenditure
  • The top 20% of HHs is 6.5 times larger than that of HHs in the bottom 20%
  • Natural hazards disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable people
  • Natural disasters raise the risk of food production destruction, which would render the vulnerable extremely poor, and increase Niue’s dependence on external markets