Territory Summary: New Caledonia
Territory Name: New Caledonia
Capital: Noumea
Government Type: parliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France
Background: The first humans settled in New Caledonia around 1600 B.C. The Lapita were skilled navigators and evidence of their pottery around the Pacific has served as a guide for understanding human expansion in the region. Successive waves of migrants from other islands in Melanesia intermarried with the Lapita, giving rise to the Kanak ethnic group considered indigenous to New Caledonia. British explorer James Cook was the first European to visit New Caledonia in 1774, giving it the Latin name for Scotland. Missionaries first landed in New Caledonia in 1840. In 1853, France annexed New Caledonia to preclude any British attempt to claim the island. France declared it a penal colony in 1864 and sent more than 20,000 prisoners to New Caledonia in the ensuing three decades.
Nickel was discovered in 1864 and French prisoners were directed to mine it. France brought in indentured servants and enslaved labor from elsewhere in Southeast Asia to work the mines, blocking Kanaks from accessing the most profitable part of the local economy. In 1878, High Chief Atai led a rebellion against French rule. The Kanaks were relegated to reservations, leading to periodic smaller uprisings and culminating in a large revolt in 1917 that was brutally suppressed by colonial authorities. During World War II, New Caledonia became an important base for Allied troops, and the US moved its South Pacific headquarters to the island in 1942. Following the war, France made New Caledonia an overseas territory and granted French citizenship to all inhabitants in 1953, thereby permitting the Kanaks to move off the reservations.
The Kanak nationalist movement began in the 1950s, but most voters chose to remain a territory in an independence referendum in 1958. The European population of New Caledonia boomed in the 1970s with a renewed focus on nickel mining, reigniting Kanak nationalism. Key Kanak leaders were assassinated in the early 1980s, leading to escalating violence and dozens of fatalities. The Matignon Accords of 1988 provided for a 10-year transition period. The Noumea Accord of 1998 transferred increasing governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia over a 20-year period and provided for three independence referenda. In the first held in 2018, voters rejected independence by 57% to 43%; in the second held in 2020, voters rejected independence 53% to 47%. In the third referendum held in December 2021, voters rejected independence 96% to 4%; however, a boycott by key Kanak groups spurred challenges about the legitimacy of the vote. In February 2021, pro-independence parties gained a majority in the New Caledonian Government for the first time. France and New Caledonia officials remain in talks about the status of the territory.
Region: Oceania
Population: 300,682 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Kanak 39.1%, European 27.1%, Wallisian, Futunian 8.2%, Tahitian 2.1%, Indonesian 1.4%, Ni-Vanuatu 1%, Vietnamese 0.9%, other 17.7%, unspecified 2.5% (2014 est.)
Languages: French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
Religions: Christian 85.2%, Muslim 2.8%, other 1.6%, unaffiliated 10.4% (2020 est.)
Economic Overview: upper-middle-income French Pacific territorial economy; enormous nickel reserves; ongoing French independence negotiations; large Chinese nickel exporter; luxury eco-tourism destination; large French aid recipient; high cost-of-living; lingering wealth disparities
Currency: CFP Franc (XPF)
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $10.266 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in 2015 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 3.5% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $35,700 (2021 est.)
Exports:
$1.92 billion (2021 est.)
Comparison Ranking: 163
Export Commodities: iron alloys, nickel, essential oils, recreational boats, shrimp (2021)
Export Partners: China 55%, South Korea 16%, Japan 11%, Taiwan 4%, Spain 3% (2021)
Imports:
$2.26 billion (2021 est.)
Comparison Ranking: 171
Import Commodities: refined petroleum, coal, cars, packaged medicines, delivery trucks (2021)
Import Partners: France 39%, Australia 14%, Singapore 11%, New Zealand 7%, China 7% (2021)
Natural Resources: nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper
Agricultural Products: coconuts, vegetables, maize, fruit, beef, pork, potatoes, bananas, eggs, yams
Industries: nickel mining and smelting
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
4.3% (2014 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 79
Labor Force: 119,000 (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 11.03% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Natural Hazards: cyclones, most frequent from November to March
Volcanism: Matthew and Hunter Islands are historically active
Geography:
Total: 18,575 sq km
Land: 18,275 sq km
Water: 300 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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