New Caledonia (2003) | Guinea-Bissau (2002) | |
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 | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.7% (male 31,990; female 30,695)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 68,093; female 67,205) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,016; female 6,799) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 281,394; female 282,641)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 353,755; female 388,968) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,130; female 21,591) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 30 (2002) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy devastated in the civil war. |
Birth rate | 19.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 38.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Noumea | Bissau |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
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: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 15.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $931 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1956 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities |
Economic aid - recipient | $880 million annual subsidy from France | $115.4 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2001. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.5 billion kWh (2001) | 55.8 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) | 60 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Consultative Committee 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; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER was reelected |
chief of state: President Kumba YALA (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Mario PIRES (since 17 November 2002) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $80 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Japan 20.6%, France 20.4%, Taiwan 16.3%, South Africa 11.3%, Spain 7.7%, South Korea 5.4%, Australia 5.4%, Italy 5.3% (2002) | India 51.4%, Italy 2.7%, South Korea 2.0%, Belgium 2.0% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 54%
industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 7.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | 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 | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Heliports | 5 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 42% (1991) (1991) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $55.2 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 52.8%, Australia 12.7%, Singapore 9.8% (2002) | Portugal 30%, Senegal 14.6%, Thailand 8.5%, China 5.7% (2000) |
Independence | 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 | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
108.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.6% (2000 est.) | 5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1991) | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) | 480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78% other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law | NA |
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 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); 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 |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held 20 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.52 years
male: 70.57 years female: 76.62 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 49.8 years
male: 47.47 years female: 52.2 years (2002 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: 34% male: 50% female: 18% (2000 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.3 million (FY96) | $5.6 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (FY96) | 2.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 313,573 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 178,404 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Guinean (s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; 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 [Jacques LAFLEUR]; 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] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 210,798 (July 2003 est.) | 1,345,479 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.38% (2003 est.) | 2.23% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mueo, Noumea, Thio | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | - | 49,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 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: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 10,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,040 (1998) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) | NA (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19% (1996) | NA% |
Waterways | none | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |