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New Caledonia Country Guide

Explore New Caledonia in Oceania

New Caledonia with the capital city Noumea is located in Oceania (Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean). It covers some 19,060 square kilometres (slightly smaller than New Jersey) with 216,494 citizens.

Interactive map of New Caledonia

The terrain features coastal plains with interior mountains. The average density of population is approximately 11 per km². The notable climate conditions in New Caledonia can be described as tropical with modified by southeast trade winds and hot, humid. Potential natural disasters are cyclones, most frequent from November to March.

To reach someone in New Caledonia dial +687 prior to a number. There are 65,900 installed telephones. And there are 208,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".nc". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of New Caledonia

New Caledonia Flag Icon

The flag of France is used.


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.

National administrative regions of New Caledonia



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Oceania
Neighbours:
Capital: Noumea
Size19,060 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 7,359 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than New Jersey
Population216,494
CurrencyName Franc, Currency Code:XPF
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).nc
Telephone Country Prefix+687
Mobile Phone Connections208,000
Landline Phone Connections65,900

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area18,575 (sq km)156

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population264,022 182
Population growth rate1.45 (%)82
Birth rate15.81 (births/1,000 population)126
Death rate5.39 (deaths/1,000 population)175
Net migration rate4.12 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)26
Infant mortality rate5.54 (deaths/1,000 live births)178
Life expectancy at birth77.13 (years)70
Total fertility rate2.02 (children born/woman)126

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)9,280,000,000 154
GDP - real growth rate0.60 (%)170
GDP - per capita (PPP)37,700 33
Labor force106,400 183
Unemployment rate17.10 (%)153
Inflation rate (consumer prices)1.70 (%)27
Exports969,400,000 159
Imports3,313,000,000 143
Debt - external79,000,000 191

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production1,675,000,000 (kWh)138
Electricity - consumption1,558,000,000 (kWh)145
Electricity - installed generating capacity421,000 (kW)141
Electricity - from fossil fuels79.10 (% of total installed capacity)93
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants18.50 (% of total installed capacity)94
Electricity - from other renewable sources2.40 (% of total installed capacity)54
Refined petroleum products - consumption13,640 (bbl/day)149
Refined petroleum products - exports730 (bbl/day)115
Refined petroleum products - imports14,550 (bbl/day)121
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy3,027,000 (Mt)141

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use76,200 152
Telephones - mobile cellular227,300 176
Internet hosts34,231 104
Internet users85,000 165

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports25 128
Roadways5,622 (km)151
Merchant marine3 137

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince