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Basic Facts |
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 |
Gevernment type | NA |
Capital |
name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Flag description | the flag of France is used |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) |
Internet country code | .nc |
Ports and terminals | Noumea |
Agriculture products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting |
Geography |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Continent | Oceania |
Area |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Boundaries | 0 km |
Coastline | 2,254 km |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
People |
Population | 219,246 (July 2006 est.) |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |