New Caledonia




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (overseas territory of France)


                                 Geography


Location:
     Oceania, Melanesia, in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,750 km east of
     Australia
Map references:
     Oceania
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


                                  People


Population:
     181,309 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.79% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     22.39 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     4.96 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     73.62 years
male:
     70.32 years
female:
     77.09 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.62 children born/woman (1994 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:
     91%
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


                                Government




Names:
conventional long form:
     Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form:
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 Alain
     CHRISTNACHT (since 15 January 1991; 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 1993); 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 - affiliated to France's
     Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR); 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
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:
     GNP - exchange rate conversion - $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:
     400,000 kW
production:
     2.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     12,790 kWh (1990)
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 duPacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 107.63
     (January 1994), 102.96 (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00
     (1990), 115.99 (1989); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the
     French franc
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Highways:
total:
     6,340 km
paved:
     634 km
unpaved:
     5,706 km (1987)
Ports:
     Noumea, Nepoui, Poro, Thio
Airports:
total:
     30
usable:
     28
with permanent-surface runways:
     4
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0




with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     1
Telecommunications:
     32,578 telephones (1987); broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 7 TV; 1
     Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Gendarmerie, Police Force
Note:
     defense is the responsibility of France