New Caledonia

Airports

29 total, 27 usable; 5 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

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

5,448 km total; 558 km paved, 2,251 km improved earth, 2,639 km unimproved earth

Ports

Noumea, Nepoui, Poro, Thio

Telecommunications

32,578 telephones (1987); stations--5 AM, 3 FM, 7 TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Note

defense is the responsibility of France

Agriculture

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

Aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.6 billion

Budget

revenues $110.5 million; expenditures $110.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1981)

Currency

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (plural--francs); 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Electricity

400,000 kW capacity; 2,200 million kWh produced, 14,440 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1--104.71 (January 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

Exports

$75 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities--nickel metal 87%, nickel ore; partners--France 56.3%, Japan

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

calendar year

GNP

$860 million, per capita $5,810; real growth rate 2.4% (1989 est.)

Imports

$180 million (c.i.f., 1986); commodities--foods, fuels, minerals, machines, electrical equipment; partners--France 50.3%, Australia

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

nickel mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.5% (1986)

Overview

New Caledonia has more than 40% 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.

Unemployment rate

6.2% (1983)

Climate

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

Coastline

2,254 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Environment

typhoons most frequent from November to March

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

NEGL% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 14% meadows and pastures; 51% forest and woodland; 35% other

Natural resources

nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper

Note

located 1,750 km east of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean

Terrain

coastal plains with interior mountains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

19,060 km2; land area: 18,760 km2

Administrative divisions

none (overseas territory of France)

Capital

Noumea

Communists

number unknown; Palita extreme left party; some politically active Communists deported during 1950s; small number of North Vietnamese

Constitution

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Diplomatic representation

as an overseas territory of France, New Caledonian interests are represented in the US by France

Executive branch

high commissioner, Consultative Committee (cabinet)

Flag

the flag of France is used

Independence

none (overseas territory of France); note--a referendum on independence will be held in 1998, with a review of the issue in 1992

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal 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)

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral Territorial Assembly

Long-form name

Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies

Member of

EIB (associate), WFTU, WMO

National holiday

Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Political parties

white-dominated Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR), conservative; Melanesian proindependence Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS); Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation (LKS); National Front (FN), extreme right; Caledonian Separatist Front, extreme left

Suffrage

universal adult at age NA Territorial Congress--last held NA June 1989 (next to be held NA 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(54 total) RPCR 27, FLNKS 19, FN 3, others 5; 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 NA; seats--(2 total) RPCR 2

Type

overseas territory of France

Birth rate

24 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3.0%

Infant mortality rate

39 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

50,469; foreign workers for plantations and mines from Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, and French Polynesia (1980 est.)

Language

French; Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Life expectancy at birth

64 years male, 71 years female (1990)

Nationality

noun--New Caledonian(s); adjective--New Caledonian

Net migration rate

- 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

NA

Population

153,215 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)

Religion

over 60% Roman Catholic, 30% Protestant, 10% other

Total fertility rate

3.0 children born/woman (1990)