NEW CALEDONIA
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
NEW CALEDONIA
(overseas territory of France)
@New Caledonia:Geography
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of
Australia
Map references: Oceania
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NEW CALEDONIA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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NOUMEA 66,000 22.16S,166.27E 687- GMT+11
Dumbea 6,000 22.10S,166.30E 687- GMT+11
Canala 4,000 21.30S,165.58E 687- GMT+11
Bourail 4,000 21.34S,165.29E 687- GMT+11
Thio 3,000 21.37S,166.14E 687- GMT+11
Hienghene 2,000 20.40S,164.54E 687- GMT+11
Houailu 1,000 21.18S,165.33E 687- GMT+11
Koumac N/A 20.33S,164.17E 687- GMT+11
Kone N/A 21.04S,164.52E 687- GMT+11
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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
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: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: typhoons most frequent from November to March
international agreements: NA
@New Caledonia:People
Population: 184,552 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (female 27,712; male 28,677)
15-64 years: 64% (female 58,462; male 60,169)
65 years and over: 5% (female 4,997; male 4,535) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.75% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.04 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.02 years
male: 70.73 years
female: 77.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 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 can read and write (1976)
total population: 91%
male: 92%
female: 90%
Labor force: 50,469 foreign workers for plantations and mines from
Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, and French Polynesia (1980 est.)
by occupation: NA
@New Caledonia: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: NC
Type: overseas territory of France since 1956
Capital: Noumea
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there
are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US
Government, but 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 Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981)
head of government: High Commissioner and President of the Council of
Government Didier CULTIAUX (since NA July 1994; appointed by the
French Ministry of the Interior); President of the Territorial
Congress Simon LOUECKHOTE (since 26 June 1989)
cabinet: Consultative Committee
Legislative branch: unicameral
Territorial Assembly: elections last held 11 June 1989 (next to be
held July 1995); results - RPCR 44.5%, FLNKS 28.5%, FN 7%, CD 5%, UO
4%, other 11%; seats - (54 total) RPCR 27, FLNKS 19, FN 3, other 5;
note - election boycotted by FULK
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), Paul NEAOUTYINE;
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
Member of: ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
Economy
Overview: New Caledonia has more than 25% 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 billion (1991
est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.4% (1988)
National product per capita: $6,000 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1989)
Budget:
revenues: $224 million
expenditures: $211 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1985 est.)
Exports: $671 million (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities: nickel metal 87%, nickel ore
partners: France 32%, Japan 23.5%, US 3.6%
Imports: $764 million (c.i.f., 1989)
commodities: foods, fuels, minerals, machines, electrical equipment
partners: France 44.0%, US 10%, Australia 9%
External debt: $NA
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
- 96.25 (January 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
@New Caledonia: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: 36
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 19
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 13
@New Caledonia:Communications
Telephone system: 32,578 telephones (1987)
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) satellite link
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 7
televisions: NA
@New Caledonia:Defense Forces
Branches: French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie);
Police Force
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
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