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This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Wikitravel country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and edit the New Caledonia article.

Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated.

[edit] Geography

Location 

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

Geographic coordinates 

21 30 S, 165 30 E

Map references 

Oceania

Area 

total: 19,060 sq km
water: 485 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries 

0 km

Coastline 

2,254 km

Maritime claims 

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate 

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

Terrain 

coastal plains with interior mountains

Elevation extremes 

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: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33%
other: 99.29% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

160 sq km (1991)

Natural hazards 

cyclones, most frequent from November to March

Environment - current issues 

erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires

Geography - note 

consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls

[edit] People

Population 

207,858 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 30% (male 31,862; female 30,577)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 67,043; female 66,102)
65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,777; female 6,497) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

1.43% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

19.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

8.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 73.27 years
female: 76.36 years (2002 est.)
male: 70.32 years

Total fertility rate 

2.44 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths 

NA

Nationality 

noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian

Ethnic groups 

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 (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Literacy 

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91%
male: 92%
female: 90% (1976 est.)

[edit] Government

Country name 

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

Dependency status 

overseas territory of France since 1956

Government type 

NA

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); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014

National holiday 

Bastille Day, 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 Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER was reelected
head of government: President of the Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001)
cabinet: Consultative Committee

Legislative branch 

unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1
note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch 

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court

Political parties and leaders 

Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Raphael MAPOU]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO]

Political pressure groups and leaders 

NA

International organization participation 

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

Diplomatic representation in the US 

none (overseas territory of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US 

none (overseas territory of France)

Flag description 

the flag of France is used

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

New Caledonia has about 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 small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. Strikes in the building industry in 2001, which lasted four months, adversely affected many other sectors of the economy. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership.

GDP 

purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

2.1% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 5%
industry: 30%
services: 65% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line 

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

2.3% (2000 est.)

Labor force 

79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996)

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate 

19% (1996)

Budget 

revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.)

Industries 

nickel mining and smelting

Industrial production growth rate 

-0.6% (1996)

Electricity - production 

1.565 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 78%
hydro: 22%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

1.455 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 

0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products

Exports 

$400 million f.o.b. (2000)

Exports - commodities 

ferronickels, nickel ore, fish

Exports - partners 

Japan 25.8%, France 18.8%, Taiwan 12%, Australia 8.2%, US 3.0% (1999)

Imports 

$1 billion f.o.b. (2000)

Imports - commodities 

transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice

Imports - partners 

France 50.2%, Australia 15.1%, Singapore 5.9%, New Zealand 5.2%, Japan 3.7% (1999)

Debt - external 

$79 million (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient 

$880 million annual subsidy from France

Currency 

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003

Currency code 

XPF

Exchange rates 

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

47,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

13,040 (1998)

Telephone system 

general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios 

107,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations 

6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions 

52,000 (1997)

Internet country code 

.nc

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

1 (2000)

Internet users 

24,000 (2001)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

0 km (2002)

Highways 

total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km
unpaved: 2,538 km (1999)

Waterways 

none

Ports and harbors 

Mueo, Noumea, Thio

Merchant marine 

total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (2002 est.)

Airports 

29 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 2 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 9 (2002)

Heliports 

5 (2002)

[edit] Military

Military branches 

no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$192.3 million (FY96)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

5.3% (FY96)

Military - note 

defense is the responsibility of France

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu