NEW CALEDONIA
(overseas territory of France)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 19,060 km2; land area: 18,760 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: none
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
Natural resources: nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver,
gold, lead, copper
Land use: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 14%; forest and woodland 51%; other 35%
Environment: typhoons most frequent from November to March
Note: located 1,750 km east of Australia in the South Pacific
Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 171,559 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1991)
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 3.0%
Religion: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%
Language: French; 28 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
Literacy: 91% (male 91%, female 90%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1976)
Labor force: 50,469; foreign workers for plantations and mines from
Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, and French Polynesia (1980 est.)
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
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); note--a
referendum on independence will be held in 1998, with a review of the
issue in 1992
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy
to the islands; formerly under French law
National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Executive branch: high commissioner, Consultative Committee
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May
1981);
Head of Government High Commissioner and President of the Council
of Government Bernard GRASSET (since 15 July 1988)
Political parties:
white-dominated Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique
(RPCR), conservative, Jacques LAFLEUR--affiliated to France's
Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR);
Melanesian proindependence Kanak 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, Yann
CELENE
Suffrage: universal adult at age 18
Elections:
Territorial Assembly--last held 11 June 1989 (next to be held NA
1993);
results--percent of vote by party--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--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(1 total) RPCR 1;
French National Assembly--last held 5 and 12 June 1988
(next to be held June 1993);
results--percent of vote by party--RPR 83.5%, FN 13.5%, other 3%;
seats--(2 total) RPCR 2
Communists: number unknown; Palita extreme left party; some
politically active Communists deported during 1950s; small number of
North Vietnamese
Member of: FZ, SPC, WFTU, WMO
Diplomatic representation: as an overseas territory of France,
New Caledonian interests are represented in the US by 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.
GNP: $973 million, per capita $5,790; real growth rate 2.4%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 16.0% (1989)
Budget: revenues $224.0 million; expenditures $211.0 million,
including capital expenditures of NA (1985)
Exports: $344 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--nickel metal 87%, nickel ore;
partners--France 52.3%, Japan 15.8%, US 6.4%
Imports: $389 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: 400,000 kW capacity; 2,200 million kWh produced,
12,790 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: nickel mining
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: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $3.9 billion
Currency: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (plural--francs);
1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF)
per US$1--93.28 (January 1991), 99.00 (1990), 115.99 (1989), 108.30
(1988), 109.27 (1987), 125.92 (1986), 163.35 (1985); note--linked at the
rate of 18.18 to the French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 6,340 km total; only about 10% paved (1987)
Ports: Noumea, Nepoui, Poro, Thio
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airports: 29 total, 27 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 32,578 telephones (1987); stations--5 AM, 3 FM,
7 TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Gendarmerie, Police Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 46,388; NA fit for military
service
Note: defense is the responsibility of France