Map of New Caledonia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century the island became 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 ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.


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

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S 165 30 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 18,575 km²
Land: 18,275 km²
Water: 300 km²
Rank: 156
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,254 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 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 1628 m

Natural resources: nickel chrome iron cobalt manganese silver gold lead copper

Land use
Agricultural land: 10.4%
Forest: 45.9%
Other: 43.7%

Irrigated land: 100 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: cyclones most frequent from November to March
Volcanism: Matthew and Hunter Islands are historically active

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


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Population: 271,615 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 184
Growth rate: 1.38% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 86
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: New Caledonian
Adjective: New Caledonian

Ethnic groups: Kanak 40.3% European 29.2% Wallisian Futunian 8.7% Tahitian 2% Indonesian 1.6% Vietnamese 1% Ni-Vanuatu 0.9% other 16.2% (2009 est.)

Languages: French (official) 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Religions: Roman Catholic 60% Protestant 30% other 10%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.19%
15-24 years: 16.89%
25-54 years: 42.99%
55-64 years: 8.21%
65 years and over: 8.72% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 47.9%
Youth dependency ratio: 32.9%
Elderly dependency ratio: 15%
Potential support ratio: 6.6%

Median age
Total: 31.4 years
Male: 30.7 years
Female: 32 years

Population growth rate: 1.38% (2015 est.)
Rank: 86

Birth rate: 15.33 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 130

Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 176

Net migration rate: 4.01 migrant(s)/1000 population
Note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia
Rank: 32

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 70.2% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.17% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: NOUMEA (capital) 181,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.37 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 6.33 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.37 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 173

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.5 years
Male: 73.49 years
Female: 81.71 years
Rank: 69

Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 125

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

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 can read and write
Total population: 96.9%
Male: 97.3%
Female: 96.5%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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: parliamentary representative democracy

Capital
Name: Noumea
Geographic coordinates: 22 16 S 166 27 E
Time difference: UTC+11

Administrative divisions: 3 provinces; Province Iles (Islands Province) Province Nord (North Province) and Province Sud (South Province)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but was rejected; a new referendum must be held before 2019

National holiday: Fete de la Federation 14 July (1789); note - the local holiday is New Caledonia Day 24 September (1853)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution with changes as reflected in Noumea Accord of 5 May 1998) (2015)

Legal system: civil law system based on French law; the 1988 Matignon Accords (signed in the Matignon Hotel) set up a 10-year period of development during which the Kanak community received substantial autonomy but agreed not to raise the independence issue

International law organization participation

Citizenship: see France

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE ; represented by High Commissioner Jean-Jacques BROT (since 2 February 2013)
Head of government: President of the Government Philippe GERMAINE ; Vice President Jean-Louis D'ANGLEBERME (since 1 April 2015)
Cabinet: Cabinet elected from and by the Territorial Congress
Electionsappointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of New Caledonia elected by Territorial Congress for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 10 June 2011 (next to be held in June 2016)
Election results: Philippe GERMAINE elected president by Territorial Congress; vote NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres du Territoire (54 seats; members indirectly selected proportionally by the partisan makeup of the 3 Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales; members of the 3 Provincial Assemblies directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Note: the Customary Senate is the assembly of the various traditional councils of the Kanaks the indigenous population which rules on laws affecting the indigenous population; New Caledonia holds two seats in the French Senate; elections last held on 28 September 2014 ; results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2; New Caledonia also elects two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2
Elections: last held on 11 May 2014 ; note - the government that was elected on 11 May 2014 collapsed within 6 months leading to a new election on 31 December 2015 which re-elected the same government
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Caledonia Together 13 FLNKS 9 UMP 7 Union for Caledonia in France 6 Build Our Rainbow Nation 6 National Union for Independence 6 other 7

Judicial branch
Highest resident court: Court of Appeal in Noumea or Cour d'Appel; organized into civil commercial social and pre-trial investigation chambers; number of judges NA); Administrative Court; number of judges NA);
Judge selection and term of office: NA
Subordinate courts: Courts of First Instance include: civil juvenile commercial labor police criminal Assizes and also a pre-trial investigation chamber; Joint Commerce Tribunal; administrative courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ITUC (NGOs) PIF (associate member) SPC UPU WFTU (NGOs) WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas territory of France)
From the us: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag description: New Caledonia has two official flags; alongside the flag of France the Kanak (indigenous Melanesian) flag has equal status; the latter consists of three equal horizontal bands of blue (top) red and green; a large yellow disk - diameter two-thirds the height of the flag - shifted slightly to the hoist side is edged in black and displays a black fleche faitiere symbol a native rooftop adornment

National symbols: fleche faitiere (native rooftop adornment) kagu bird; national colors: blue red green yellow black

National anthem
Name: 'Soyons unis devenons freres'
Lyrics and music: Chorale Melodia
Note: adopted 2008; contains a mixture of lyrics in both French and Nengone ; as a self-governing territory of France in addition to the local anthem 'La Marseillaise' is official (see France)

National heritage


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Economy overview: New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel reserves. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel substantial financial support from France - equal to more than 15% of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy; during 2009-10 France sent more development assistance to New Caledonia than to any of its other overseas territories. In October 2014 French Prime Minster Manuel VALLS confirmed financial support to New Caledonia totaling $500 million for the period 2016-20. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry — including two major new plants combined with the recovery of global nickel prices brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. In 2015 New Caledonia is likely to help fill China’s shortfall in nickel supplies left by an Indonesian ban on nickel ore exports. The new government which inherited a $112 million deficit in 2013 is expected to focus on bringing the territory’s budget back into balance.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 156

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 119

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 42

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 62%
Government consumption: 24.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 41.7%
Investment in inventories: 0.1%
Exports of goods and services: 19.7%
Imports of goods and services: -48%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.4%
Industry: 25.9%
Services: 72.8%

Agriculture products: vegetables; beef venison other livestock products; fish

Industries: nickel mining and smelting

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2014 est.)
Rank: 34

Labor force: 106,400 (2010 est.)
Rank: 183
By occupation agriculture: 2.7%
By occupation industry: 22.4%
By occupation services: 74.9%

Unemployment rate: 17.1% (2004)
Rank: 158

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $996 million
Expenditures: $1.072 billion
Surplus or deficit: NA% of GDP

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 33

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance

Exports:
Rank: 153
Commodities: ferronickels nickel ore fish
Partners: France 18.4% Japan 15.7% Republic of Korea 12.1% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 143
Commodities: machinery and equipment fuels chemicals foodstuffs
Partners: France 22.2% Singapore 18.6% Australia 10.9% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:
Rank: 193

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 2.92 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 133
Consumption: 2.716 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 138
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 174
Imports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 180
Installed generating capacity: 499,200 kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 141
Generation sources fossil fuels: 76.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 97
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 150
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 15.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 102
Generation sources other renewable sources: 7.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 48

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 173
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 167
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 104
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 172

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 115
Products consumption: 14,500 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 144
Products exports: 116.9 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 120
Products imports: 14,670 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products imports rank: 128

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 108
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 176
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 151
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 106
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 174

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 3.071 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 139

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 88,500
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33
Fixed lines rank: 146
Mobile cellular total: 243,100
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 91
Mobile cellular rank: 179

Telephone system
General assessment: a submarine cable network connection between New Caledonia and Australia completed in 2007 increased network capacity and improved high-speed connectivity and access to international networks
Domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership exceeds 100 per 100 persons
International: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (2010)

Broadcast media: the publicly owned French Overseas Network (RFO) which operates in France's overseas departments and territories broadcasts over the RFO Nouvelle Caledonie TV and radio stations; a small number of privately owned radio stations also broadcast (2008)

Internet
Country code: .nc
Users total: 169,100
Users percent of population: 63.1%
Users rank: 159

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 25 (2013)
Rank: 128
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 13
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways: 8 (2013)

Heliports: 8 (2013)

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 5,622 km
Rank: 152

Waterways

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 3 (2010)
Rank: 137

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Noumea


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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs