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| CIA Background Information |
Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made 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 as many as three referenda between 2013 and 2018, to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
| U.S. State Department Description |
Country Description:
New Caledonia is a French overseas territory located in the Southwest Pacific near Australia. It consists of the large island of New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, the Isle of Pines, and several smaller island groups. The capital is Noumea. New Caledonia's moderately developed economy is based on mining and, to a lesser degree, tourism. Tourist facilities can be found throughout New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, and the Isle of Pines. The French Government Tourism Office, which has a wide range of information available to travelers, can be contacted by telephone at (212) 838-7800.
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Location: New Caledonia is Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia See Map
Capital: name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E
time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Currency (Code): Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) ...More
Area: total: 19,060 sq km , land: 18,575 sq km , water: 485 sq km ( 1 sq km is approximately 0.4 sq miles or 250 acres)
Area Comparison: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Elevation Extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m , highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m (1 meter = 3.28 feet)
Population: 224,824 (July 2008 est.)
Unemployment: 17.1% (2004)
Ethnic Groups: Melanesian 44.1%, European 34.1%, Wallisian & Futunian 9%, Tahitian 2.6%, Indonesian 2.5%, Vietnamese 1.4%, Ni-Vanuatu 1.1%, other 5.2% (1996 census)
Religion: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%
Languages: French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
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