New Caledonia (2007) | Trinidad and Tobago (2003) | |
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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 Province des Iles, Province Nord, and Province Sud | 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1 ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*, Tobago**, Victoria |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 31,578/female 30,270)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 72,821/female 72,109) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 7,047/female 8,118) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.2% (male 125,470; female 119,270)
15-64 years: 70% (male 402,137; female 370,600) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 38,928; female 47,804) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish | cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 25 (2007) | 6 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2007) |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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 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. | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean, thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. |
Birth rate | 17.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996 million
expenditures: $1.072 billion (2001 est.) |
revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998) |
Capital | name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Port-of-Spain |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 1 August 1976 |
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 Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
Currency | - | Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) |
Death rate | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.71 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $2.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | territorial collectivity of France since 1998 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Marina Annette VALERE (as of February 2003)
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $524.3 million annual subsidy from France (2004) | $24 million (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 15% 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. | Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer the past four years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by solid growth in the oil sector, offset in part by domestic political uncertainty. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.403 billion kWh (2005) | 4.943 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.508 billion kWh (2005) | 5.315 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 99.8%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0.2% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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% | black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.025 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002) | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.24 (2002), 6.23 (2001), 6.3 (2000), 6.3 (1999), 6.3 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by High Commissioner Yves DASSONVILLE (since 9 November 2007)
head of government: President of the Government Harold MARTIN (since 7 August 2007) cabinet: Cabinet consisting of 11 members elected from and by the Territorial Congress 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 7 August 2007 when Harold MARTIN was elected following the resignation of Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU as president on 24 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) |
chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers |
Exports - partners | Japan 17.8%, Taiwan 14.9%, France 13.7%, China 11.1%, Spain 9.7%, Belgium 7.5%, Italy 6.2%, Australia 4.7% (2006) | US 56.9%, Jamaica 7.3%, France 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $11.07 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 8.8% services: 76.2% (2003) |
agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 43.2% services: 55.2% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 11 00 N, 61 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 | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt |
Heliports | 6 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.) |
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 drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals |
Imports - partners | France 38.9%, Singapore 15.3%, Australia 11.4%, NZ 4.8% (2006) | US 42%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.5%, UK 5%, Japan 4.5%, Brazil 4.3% (2002) |
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 | 31 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | 2.6% (2002 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ITUC, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WFTU, WMO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 17 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London |
Labor force | 78,990 (2004) | 564,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002) |
construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.32%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005) |
arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese |
Legal system | based on French civil law; the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres du territoire (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 in 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 one 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 two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held on June 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.5 years
male: 71.52 years female: 77.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 69.59 years
male: 67.07 years female: 72.23 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2% male: 96.8% female: 95.5% (1996 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,566 GRT/2,543 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,032 GRT/5,106 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $90 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (1999) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 327,823 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 233,488 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2007 est.) |
-10.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | 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 (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independence) 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] | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR] |
Population | 221,943 (July 2007 est.) | 1,104,209 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 21% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.203% (2007 est.) | -0.68% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; common carrier railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.009 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,300 (2005) | 252,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 134,300 (2005) | 17,411 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 repeaters) (1997) | 4 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.78 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.1% (2004) | 10.8% (2002) |
Waterways | - | none |