Census taking in Niue, South Pacific.

PIP: Although the census enumerations carried out every 5 years on the Polynesian island of Niue cover an exceedingly small population, the methods used are sophisticated and reliable. The enumeration is de facto. Both household and individual forms are completed, and data are processed on the island through use of a microcomputer. Since everyone in Niue is known to the census commissioner, most inconsistencies on the questionnaires can be corrected without recourse to an additional field visit. For Niue to qualify for assistance from New Zealand, the census must produce a count of at least 3000 people. In some years, this total has been reached by counting travelers anchored offshore. The population of many Polynesian island states has been declining due to emigration to Australia, New Zealand, and the US. As of October 1989, Niue's stationary population stood at 2267.^ieng