Land use: arable land: 0.38% permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001)
Irrigated land:
160 sq km (1991)
Natural hazards:
cyclones, most frequent from November to March
Environment - current issues:
erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires
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
People New Caledonia
Population:
216,494 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 27.5 years
male: 27.16 years
female: 27.84 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.28% (2005 est.)