New Caledonia (2003) | Tuvalu (2004) | |
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 | none |
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: 31.3% (male 1,828; female 1,761)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 3,530; female 3,770) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227; female 352) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 30 (2002) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. |
Birth rate | 19.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Noumea | Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 24 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 1 October 1978 |
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: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
Death rate | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1956 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 |
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 | $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) |
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. | Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.5 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
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) | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419, (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 Ocotober 2004 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1 million f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | copra, fish |
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) | UK 37.5%, Poland 19.1%, Philippines 9.2%, Australia 9.1%, Fiji 6.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million NA (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
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 | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon |
Heliports | 5 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | NA (2001) | $79 million c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | France 52.8%, Australia 12.7%, Singapore 9.8% (2002) | Fiji 47.3%, Australia 13.9%, Poland 10.8%, Germany 10.2%, Japan 8%, New Zealand 6.2% (2003) |
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 | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | NA |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | fishing, tourism, copra |
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.) |
total: 20.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.6% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1991) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) | people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
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 Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.52 years
male: 70.57 years female: 76.62 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 67.66 years
male: 65.47 years female: 69.96 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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.) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT
by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 4, Singapore 1, Thailand 1 (2004 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 | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.3 million (FY96) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (FY96) | NA |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 210,798 (July 2003 est.) | 11,468 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.38% (2003 est.) | 1.44% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mueo, Noumea, Thio | Funafuti, Nukufetau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 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: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,040 (1998) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 2.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19% (1996) | NA |
Waterways | none | - |