New Caledonia

Overseas territory of France

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia

Area

Total area: 19,060 sq km
Land area: 18,760 sq km
Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land Boundaries

0 km

Coastline

2,254 km

Maritime Claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

International Disputes

None

Climate

Tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

Terrain

Coastal plains with interior mountains
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m

Natural Resources

Nickel
Chrome
Iron
Cobalt
Manganese
Silver
Gold
Lead
Copper

Land Use

Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 14%
Forest and woodland: 51%
Other: 35%

Irrigated Land

Environment

Current issues: NA
Natural hazards: typhoons most frequent from November to March
International agreements: NA

PEOPLE

Population

187,784 (July 1996 est.)
184,552 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

30% (male 28,941; female 27,929) (July 1996 est.)
31% (male 28,677; female 27,712) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

64% (male 61,263; female 59,673) (July 1996 est.)
64% (male 60,169; female 58,462) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

6% (male 4,750; female 5,228) (July 1996 est.)
5% (male 4,535; female 4,997) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.72% (1996 est.)
1.75% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

21.75 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
22.04 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

4.88 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
4.9 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

13.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
14.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 74.35 years (1996 est.), 74.02 years (1995 est.)
Male: 71.06 years (1996 est.), 70.73 years (1995 est.)
Female: 77.8 years (1996 est.), 77.48 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

2.53 children born/woman (1996 est.)
2.57 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: New Caledonian(s)
Adjective: New Caledonian

Ethnic Divisions

Melanesian 42.5%
European 37.1%
Wallisian 8.4%
Polynesian 3.8%
Indonesian 3.6%
Vietnamese 1.6%
Other 3%

Religions

Roman Catholic 60%
Protestant 30%
Other 10%

Languages

French, 28 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1976)

Total population: 91%
Male: 92%
Female: 90%

Labor Force

70,044 (1988)

By occupation:

agriculture 32%
industry 20%
services 40%
mines 8% (1992)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
Conventional short form: New Caledonia
Local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances
Local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie

Digraph

Type

Overseas territory of France since 1956

Capital

Noumea

Administrative Divisions

None (overseas territory of France); there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud

Independence

None (overseas territory of France; a referendum on independence will be held in 1998)

National Holiday

National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Constitution

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal System

The 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995) represented by High Commissioner and President of the Council of Government Dominque BUR (since NA), who was appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
Head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Pierre FROGIER (since NA) was elected by the members of the Assembly
Cabinet: Consultative Committee

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Territorial Assembly

Elections last held 9 July 1995 (next to be held NA July 2001); results - percent by party NA; seats - (54 total) RPCR 22, NCPT 7, other anti-independence parties 6, FLNKS 12, other pro-independence parties 7

French Senate

Elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held September 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) RPCR 1

French National Assembly

Elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to be held 21 and 28 March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) RPCR 2

Judicial Branch

Court of Appeal

Political Parties and Leaders

White-dominated Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR), conservative, Jacques LAFLEUR, president - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR; also called South Province Party); Melanesian proindependence Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), Rock WAMYTAN; Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation (LKS), Nidoish NAISSELINE; National Front (FN), extreme right, Guy GEORGE; Caledonie Demain (CD), right-wing, Bernard MARANT; Union Oceanienne (UO), conservative, Michel HEMA; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak (FULK), proindependence, Clarence UREGEI; Union Caledonian (UC), Francois BURCK, president; "1999" (new party calling for an autonomous state), Philippe PENTECOST; Nouvelle-Caledonie Pour Toute (NCPT)

Member of

ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO

Flag

Three horizontal bands, blue (top), red, and green, with a yellow disk enclosing a black symbol centered to the hoist side; the flag of France is used for official occasions.
View the flag of New Caledonia

ECONOMY

Overview

New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 25% of imports.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.5 billion (1995 est.), $1 billion (1991 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

2.4% (1988)

National Product Per Capita

$8,000 (1995 est.)
$6,000 (1991 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

1.4% (1990)

Unemployment Rate

15% (1994)
16% (1989)

Budget

Revenues: $540 million (1991 est.), $224 million (1985 est.)
Expenditures: $540 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.), $211 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1985 est.)

Exports

$477 million (f.o.b., 1992)
$671 million (f.o.b., 1989)

Commodities:

Nickel metal 22%
Nickel ore

Partners:

France 32.2%
Japan 23.5%
Germany 6.7%
U.S. 3.6%
India 1.2%

Imports

$926 million (c.i.f., 1992)
$764 million (c.i.f., 1989)

Commodities:

Foods
Fuels
Minerals
Machines
Electrical equipment

Partners:

France 46.3%
EU 14.9%
Australia 10.2%
Japan 6.3%
New Zealand 4.4%

External Debt

Industrial Production

Growth rate NA

Electricity

Capacity: 250,000 kW
Production: 1.2 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 6,178 kWh (1993)

Industries

Nickel mining and smelting

Agriculture

Large areas devoted to cattle grazing; coffee, corn, wheat, vegetables; 60% self-sufficient in beef

Illicit Drugs

Illicit cannabis cultivation is becoming a principal source of income for some families

Economic Aid

Recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.185 billion

Currency

1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange Rates

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 91.00 (January 1996), 90.75 (1995), 100.93 (1994), 102.96 (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00 (1990); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

0 km

Highways

Total: 6,340 km
Paved: 634 km
Unpaved: 5,706 km (1987)

Ports

Mueo, Noumea, Thio

Merchant Marine

Total: 1 roll-on/roll-off ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,079 GRT/724 DWT

Airports

Total: 28
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 12
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12 (1995 est.)

Heliports

7 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

38,748 telephones (1983 est.)

Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) satellite link

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0
Radios: 97,000 (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 7
Televisions: 47,000 (1992 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force

Defense Expenditures

Note: Defense is the responsibility of France

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 3 december 1997

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