Branches:
Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National
Guard, Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 48,965; fit for military service 27,531; reach military age
(20) annually 1,638 (1993 est.)
Note:
defense is responsibility of the Netherlands
*New Caledonia, Header
Affiliation: (overseas territory of France)
*New Caledonia, Geography
Location:
in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,750 km east of Australia
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
19,060 km2
land area:
18,760 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
2,254 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
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:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
14%
forest and woodland:
51%
other:
35%
Irrigated land:
NA km2
Environment:
typhoons most frequent from November to March
*New Caledonia, People
Population:
178,056 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.83% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
22.7 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
5.01 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
15.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
73.22 years
male:
69.92 years
female:
76.7 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.67 children born/woman (1993 est.)
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%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%
Languages:
French, 28 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1976)
total population:
91%
male:
91%
female:
90%
Labor force:
50,469 foreign workers for plantations and mines from Wallis and Futuna,
Vanuatu, and French Polynesia (1980 est.)
by occupation:
NA
*New Caledonia, Government
Names:
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
Digraph:
NC
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; a referendum on independence will be
held in 1998)
Constitution:
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system:
the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands;
formerly under French law
National holiday:
National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Political parties and leaders:
white-dominated Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR),
conservative, Jacques LAFLEUR - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la
Republique (RPR); Melanesian proindependence Kanaka 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, UREGEI; Union Caledonian (UC), Francois BURCK
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Elections:
French Senate:
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:
last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held 21 and 28 March 1993); results
- RPR 83.5%, FN 13.5%, other 3%; seats - (2 total) RPCR 2
Territorial Assembly:
last held 11 June 1989 (next to be held 1993); results - 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
Executive branch:
French president, high commissioner, Consultative Committee (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral Territorial Assembly
Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal
*New Caledonia, Government