New Caledonia (2001) | Sri Lanka (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
30.31% (male 31,674; female 30,416) 15-64 years: 63.95% (male 66,014; female 65,006) 65 years and over: 5.74% (male 5,548; female 6,205) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.5% (male 2,508,384/female 2,397,986)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 6,658,765/female 7,059,468) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 670,813/female 769,360) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 14 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
23 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
19,060 sq km land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | 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 seems to have dissipated. | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. |
Birth rate | 20.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.63 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$861.3 million expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $3.34 billion
expenditures: $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Noumea | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; new constitution proposed in 2002 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) | - |
Death rate | 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $10.85 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1956 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 244-8007 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $880 million annual subsidy from France | $577 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In 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 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.414 billion kWh (1999) | 6.228 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.52 billion kWh (1999) | 6.697 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
78.95% hydro: 21.05% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 127.11 (January 2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Thierry LATASTE (since 19 July 1999) head of government: President of the Government Jean LEQUES (since 28 May 1999) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-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 |
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE is the prime minister (since 6 April 2004); the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7% |
Exports | $411 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, France 17%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 9% (1999) | US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 30% services: 66% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 19.1%
industry: 26.2% services: 54.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (1998 est.) | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Heliports | 6 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,825 km paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
total: 11,650 km
paved: 11,068 km unpaved: 582 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
Imports | $843 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | France 49%, Australia 14%, Singapore 6%, New Zealand 5%, US 5% (1999) | India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | 7.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (1998 est.) | 5.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO | AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1991) | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 79,395 (including 15, 018 unemployed, 1996) | 7.26 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) | agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 12% forests and woodland: 39% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.86%
permanent crops: 15.7% other: 70.44% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2 |
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.02 years male: 70.08 years female: 76.11 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.17 years
male: 70.6 years female: 75.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT
by type: cargo 18, container 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 10) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.3 million (1996) | $514.8 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (1996) | 2.6% (2004) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie [Didier LEROUX]; Developper Ensemble pour Construire l'Avenir or DEPCA [Robert FROUIN]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Leopald SOREDIE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Groupe de l'Alliance Multiraciale or GAM [Dany DALMAYRAE]; Independance et Progres [Alphonse PUJAPUJANE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); La Caledonie Autrement [Denis MILLIARD]; Loyalty Islands Development Front or FDIL [Cono HAMU]; National Front or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Charles WASHETINE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [leader NA]; Renouveau [Thierry VALET]; Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS [Nidoish NAISSELINE]; Union Caledonienne or UC [Bernard LEPEU]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Andre GOPEA] | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
Population | 204,863 (July 2001 est.) | 20,064,776
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2001 est.) | 0.79% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mueo, Noumea, Thio | Colombo, Galle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 107,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 881,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,040 (1998) | 931,600 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 2.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19% (1996) | 7.8% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004) |