]! ^! 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 has dissipated. 
]" ^" Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia ^# 21 30 S, 165 30 E ^$ Oceania ^% `! 19,060 sq km `" 18,575 sq km `# 485 sq km ^& slightly smaller than New Jersey ^' 0 km ^( 2,254 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid ^+ coastal plains with interior mountains ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& Mont Panie 1,628 m ^- nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper ^. `' 0.38% `( 0.33% `) 99.29% (2001) ^/ 160 sq km (1991) ^0 cyclones, most frequent from November to March ^1 erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires ^2 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 
]# ^3 216,494 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714) `+ 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506) `, 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 27.5 years `- 27.16 years `. 27.84 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.28% (2005 est.) ^7 18.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.01 male(s)/female `, 0.88 male(s)/female `1 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births `- 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 74.04 years `- 71.07 years `. 77.16 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.31 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 New Caledonian(s) `3 New Caledonian ^B Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% ^C Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% ^D French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 91% `- 92% `. 90% (1976 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies `5 New Caledonia `V Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances `W Nouvelle-Caledonie ^G overseas territory of France since 1956 ^H NA ^I Noumea ^J 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 ^K none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 ^L Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) ^M 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) ^N the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005) `7 President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) `8 Consultative Committee `9 French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions ^Q unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `9 last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 ^R Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court ^S Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] ^T NA ^U FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO ^V none (overseas territory of France) ^W none (overseas territory of France) ^X the flag of France is used 
]% ^Y New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. ^Z $3.158 billion (2003 est.) ^[ NA% ^\ purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2003 est.) ^] `; 5% `< 30% `= 65% (1997 est.) ^^ 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed) (1996) ^_ agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) ^` 19% (1996) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" -0.6% (2000 est.) _# `@ $861.3 million `A $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) _$ vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products _% nickel mining and smelting _& -0.6% (1996) _' 1.581 billion kWh (2002) _( 1.471 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $448 million f.o.b. (2002) _0 ferronickels, nickel ore, fish _1 Japan 22%, France 16.5%, Taiwan 12.3%, South Korea 12%, Spain 6.3%, Australia 6.1%, China 4.8%, South Africa 4.5% (2004) _2 $1.007 billion f.o.b. (2002) _3 machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs _4 France 40.3%, Singapore 10.9%, Australia 9.1%, New Zealand 4.9% (2004) _5 $79 million (1998 est.) _6 $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) _7 Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) _8 Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 52,000 (2002) _; 80,000 (2002) _< `B NA `C NA `D country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) _? .nc _@ 4,449 (2003) _A 60,000 (2003) 
]' _B `! 5,432 km (2000) _C Noumea _K `! 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2005) _D 25 (2004 est.) _E `! 11 `] 1 `_ 8 `T 2 (2004 est.) _L `! 14 `_ 8 `T 6 (2004 est.) _\ 6 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force _N $NA _O NA _G defense is the responsibility of France 
]) _H Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu 