Statistical information New Caledonia 1996

New Caledonia in the World

New Caledonia - Introduction 1996

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Background: 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.

New Caledonia - Geography 1996

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

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 19,060 km²
Land: 18,760 km²
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
Extremes highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m

Natural resources:

Nickel
Chrome
Iron
Cobalt
Manganese
Silver
Gold
Lead
Copper

Land use

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 14%
Forests and woodland: 51%
Other: 35%

Irrigated land: NA

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

New Caledonia - People 1996

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Population:

187,784 (July 1996 est.)
184,552 (July 1995 est.)

Growth rate:

1.72% (1996 est.)
1.75% (1995 est.)

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%

Languages: French, 28 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Religions:

Roman Catholic 60%
Protestant 30%
Other 10%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years:

30% (male 28,941; female 27,929) (July 1996 est.)
31% (male 28,677; female 27,712) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 years:

64% (male 61,263; female 59,673) (July 1996 est.)
64% (male 60,169; female 58,462) (July 1995 est.)

65 years and over:

6% (male 4,750; female 5,228) (July 1996 est.)
5% (male 4,535; female 4,997) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

1.72% (1996 est.)
1.75% (1995 est.)

Birth rate:

21.75 births/1000 population (1996 est.)
22.04 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate:

4.88 deaths/1000 population (1996 est.)
4.9 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate:

0.31 migrant(s)/1000 population (1996 est.)
0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: NA
Current issues Natural hazards: typhoons most frequent from November to March
International agreements: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
All ages:

1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.) Infant Mortality Rate:13.8 deaths/1000 live births (1996 est.)
14.4 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.35 years (1996 est.), 74.02 years (1995 est.)
Male: 71.06 years (1996 est.), 70.73 years (1995 est.)
Female: 77.8 years (1996 est.), 77.48 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.53 children born/woman (1996 est.)
2.57 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1976)
Total population: 91%
Male: 92%
Female: 90%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

New Caledonia - Government 1996

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Country name
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

Government type: Overseas territory of France since 1956

Capital: Noumea

Administrative divisions: None (overseas territory of France; there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995) represented by High Commissioner and President of the Council of Government Dominque BUR (since NA), who was appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
Head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Pierre FROGIER (since NA) was elected by the members of the Assembly
Cabinet: Consultative Committee

Legislative branch: Unicameral Territorial Assembly:Elections last held 9 July 1995 (next to be held NA July 2001; results_percent by party NA; seats_(54 total) RPCR 22, NCPT 7, other anti-independence parties 6, FLNKS 12, other pro-independence parties 7 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

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

: Three horizontal bands, blue (top), red, and green, with a yellow disk enclosing a black symbol centered to the hoist side; the flag of France is used for official occasions

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

New Caledonia - Economy 1996

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Economy overview: New Caledonia has more than 20% 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.4% (1988)

Real gdp per capita:

purchasing power parity_ $8,000 (1995 est.)
$6,000 (1991 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin