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| Get A Large Static Flag | New Caledonia |
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| Introduction | New Caledonia |
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Background:
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Settled by both Britain and France during first half of 19th century, island previously made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. |
| Geography | New Caledonia |
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Location:
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Oceania, islands in South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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21 30 S, 165 30 E |
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Map references:
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Oceania |
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Area:
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total: 19,060 sq km
water: 485 sq km land: 18,575 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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2,254 km |
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
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Terrain:
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coastal plains with interior mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
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Natural resources:
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nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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160 sq km (1991) |
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Natural hazards:
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cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
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Environment - current issues:
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erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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Geography - note:
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consists of main island of New Caledonia (one of largest in Pacific Ocean), archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous limited , sparsely populated islands and atolls |
| People | New Caledonia |
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Total Population:
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210,798 (July 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 29.7% (male 31,990; female 30,695)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 68,093; female 67,205) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,016; female 6,799) (2003 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 26.9 years
male: 26.7 years female: 27.2 years (2002) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.38% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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19.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female Population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 8.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life Expectancy:
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Population: 73.52 years
male: 70.57 years female: 76.62 years (2003 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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Languages:
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French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
| Government | New Caledonia |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances |
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Dependency status:
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overseas territory of France since 1956 |
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Government type:
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NA |
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Capital:
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Noumea |
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Administrative divisions:
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none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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Independence:
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none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence previously held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
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National holiday:
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Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
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Constitution:
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28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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Legal system:
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1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to islands; formerly under French law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by French president on advice of French Ministry of Interior; president of government elected by members of Territorial Congress; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER previously reelected head of government: President of Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Consultative Committee |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
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Judicial branch:
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Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in Republic (anti independent) or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO |
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Diplomatic representation in US:
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none (overseas territory of France) |
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Diplomatic representation from US:
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none (overseas territory of France) |
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Flag description:
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flag of France is used |
| Economy | New Caledonia |
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Economy - overview:
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New Caledonia has about 25% of world's known nickel resources. Only a limited amount of 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 one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to health of economy. Substantial new investment in nickel industry, combined with recovery of globel nickel prices, brightens economic outlook for next several years. |
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GDP:
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buying power parity - $3 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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NA |
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GDP - per capita:
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buying power parity - $14,000 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.6% (2000 est.) |
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Labor force:
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79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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19% (1996) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, includes capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
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Industries:
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nickel mining and smelting |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-0.6% (1996) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.613 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.5 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Agriculture - products:
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vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
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Exports:
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$400 million f.o.b. (2000) |
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Exports - commodities:
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ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
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Exports - partners:
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Japan 20.6%, France 20.4%, Taiwan 16.3%, South Africa 11.3%, Spain 7.7%, South Korea 5.4%, Australia 5.4%, Italy 5.3% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$1 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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France 52.8%, Australia 12.7%, Singapore 9.8% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$79 million (1998 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$880 million annual subsidy from France |
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Currency:
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Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt euro in 2003 |
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Currency code:
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XPF |
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Exchange rates:
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Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
| Communications | New Caledonia |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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47,000 (1997) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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13,040 (1998) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Radios:
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107,000 (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
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Televisions:
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52,000 (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.nc |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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1 (2000) |
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Internet users:
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24,000 (2001) |
| Transportation | New Caledonia |
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Railways:
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0 km |
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Highways:
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total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (2002 est.) |
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Airports:
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30 (2002) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
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Heliports:
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5 (2002) |
| Military | New Caledonia |
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Military branches:
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no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$192.3 million (FY96) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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5.3% (FY96) |
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Military - note:
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defense is responsibility of France |
| Transnational Issues | New Caledonia |
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Disputes - international:
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Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |