Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) - New Caledonia (2006)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) z New Caledonia (2006)

	British Virgin Islands (2002)	New Caledonia (2006)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351) 15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 28.4% (male 31,818/female 30,503) 15-64 years: 64.9% (male 71,565/female 70,815) 65 years and over: 6.6% (male 6,773/female 7,772) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish
Airports	3 (2001)	25 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 11 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)	total: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2006)
Area	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada	total: 19,060 sq km land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	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.
Birth rate	15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	18.11 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)	revenues: $856.3 million expenditures: $836.5 million (1996 est.)
Capital	Road Town	name: Noumea geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid
Coastline	80 km	2,254 km
Constitution	1 June 1977	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie
Currency	US dollar (USD)	-
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	5.69 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	$79 million (1998 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	territorial collectivity of France since 1998
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of France)
Disputes - international	none	Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu
Economic aid - recipient	NA	$525 million annual subsidy from France (2004)
Economy - overview	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.	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.
Electricity - consumption	39.1 million kWh (1999)	1.47 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	42 million kWh (1999)	1.581 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)	erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires
Ethnic groups	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed	Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor	chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005) head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee consists of eight members chosen from leading figures on the island to advise the High Commissioner elections: 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 for a five-year term (no term limits); note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions
Exports	$6.2 million	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	ferronickels, nickel ore, fish
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	Japan 21.4%, France 16%, Taiwan 11.4%, South Korea 10.1%, Spain 9%, China 7.2%, South Africa 5.2%, Belgium 4.5% (2005)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)	the flag of France is used
GDP	purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 2% industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 15% industry: 8.8% services: 76.2% (1997 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4.4% (2000 est.)	NA%
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	21 30 S, 165 30 E
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	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
Heliports	-	6 (2006)
Highways	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center	-
Imports	$230 million (2000 est.)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	France 39%, Singapore 17.4%, Australia 13%, NZ 5.3% (2005)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Industrial production growth rate	4% (1985)	-0.6% (1996)
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	nickel mining and smelting
Infant mortality rate	19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 7.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.3% (2000)	-0.6% (2000 est.)
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)	ICFTU, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WFTU, WMO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	16 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	100 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction	Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court
Labor force	4,911 (1980)	78,990 (including 11,300 unemployed) (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%	agriculture: 20% industry: 20% services: 60% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0.32% permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005)
Languages	English (official)	French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
Legal system	English law	the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5	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) elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: 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; by 2010, New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 75.85 years male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.)	total population: 74.27 years male: 71.29 years female: 77.39 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.)
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Oceania
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.)	total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,566 GRT/2,543 DWT by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2006)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches	-	no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	noun: New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	cyclones, most frequent from November to March
Natural resources	NEGL	nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper
Net migration rate	10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]	Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caledonian Union or UC; 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	21,272 (July 2002 est.)	219,246 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	2.16% (2002 est.)	1.24% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Road Town	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	9,000 (1997)	-
Railways	0 km	-
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)	Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (1996)	55,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	134,300 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)	6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	coastal plains with interior mountains
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)	2.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	3% (1995)	17.1% (2004)
Waterways	none	-

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