n recent years the economy has suffered because of depressed
international demand for nickel, the principal source of export
earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for
cultivation, and food accounts for about 25% of imports.
National product:
GNP - exchange rate conversion - $1 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
2.4% (1988)
National product per capita:
$6,000 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
16% (1989)
Budget:
revenues:
$224 million
expenditures:
$211 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985 est.)
Exports:
$671 million (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities:
nickel metal 87%, nickel ore
partners:
France 32%, Japan 23.5%, US 3.6%
Imports:
$764 million (c.i.f., 1989)
commodities:
foods, fuels, minerals, machines, electrical equipment
partners:
France 44.0%, US 10%, Australia 9%
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
400,000 kW
production:
2.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
12,790 kWh (1990)
Industries:
nickel mining and smelting
Agriculture:
large areas devoted to cattle grazing; coffee, corn, wheat,
vegetables; 60% self-sufficient in beef
Illicit drugs:
illicit cannabis cultivation is becoming a principal source of income
for some families
Economic aid:
recipient:
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $4.185 billion
Currency:
1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Comptoirs Francais duPacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 107.63
(January 1994), 102.96 (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00
(1990), 115.99 (1989); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the
French franc
Fiscal year:
calendar year

@New Caledonia, Communications

Highways:
total:
6,340 km
paved:
634 km
unpaved:
5,706 km (1987)
Ports:
Noumea, Nepoui, Poro, Thio
Airports:
total:
30
usable:
28
with permanent-surface runways:
4
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
1
Telecommunications:
32,578 telephones (1987); broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 7 TV; 1
Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

@New Caledonia, Defense Forces

Branches:
Gendarmerie, Police Force
Note:
defense is the responsibility of France

@New Zealand, Geography

Location:
Southwestern Oceania, southeast of Austral