AfricaAsia NorthAsia South and SoutheastAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastNorth AmericaPacificAmerican SamoaCook IslandsFijiFrench PolynesiaKiribatiMarshall IslandsMicronesiaNauruNew CaledoniaNiuePalauPapua New GuineaSamoaSolomon IslandsTokelauTongaTuvaluVanuatuWallis and Futuna
Find MFAT's information paper on a country or territory. (We don't have information papers on all countries.)
Official Name: New Caledonia
Land Area: 19,103 sq km
Population: 244, 600 (January 2008 official estimate)
Capital City: Nouméa
Religion: Catholic and Protestant
Language: French; 33 Melanesian languages also exist, although some are rarely spoken
Currency:French Pacific Franc (CFP or XPF)
Exchange Rate: XPF 57 = NZ$1 (August 2009)
EEZ:1.45 million sq km
Political system: The 1998 Nouméa Accord defined New Caledonia as an “Overseas Country” of France. Since 1999, New Caledonia has had enhanced self-governing status within the French Constitution. The terms “collectivités territoriales” or “collectivités françaises du Pacifique” are accepted.
National government: Since May 1999 New Caledonia's Government has consisted of an 11-member executive (Ministerial Cabinet) responsible to the 54-seat Congress of New Caledonia. The government is elected by Congress on a proportional ballot from party lists, and this ensures that it comprises more than one political party, under the system of “collegial government” mandated by the Nouméa Accord. The President is elected by majority vote of all government members.
National legislature: The Congress of New Caledonia comprises representatives from the three provincial assemblies (15 from Northern Province, 32 from Southern Province and 7 from Loyalty Islands). Members of the provincial assemblies are elected for terms of five years. Voting rights are restricted for elections during the remainder of the Nouméa Accord term (to 2018) to those resident in New Caledonia for 10 years prior to the signing of the Nouméa Accord in 1998, and their descendants.
French State Responsibility: Political responsibility for New Caledonia in France lies with the Minister for Overseas Territories, Brice Hortefeux, and his Secretary of State Marie-Luce Penchard.
High Commissioner Yves Dassonville represents the French Government in New Caledonia.Last elections:
May 2009 – Provincial (General) elections
June 2007 – Legislative elections (representatives to the French National Assembly)
March 2008 – Municipal elections
May 2004 - Provincial (General) elections
Next elections due:
Senatorial - 2010
Head of State: HE Nicolas Sarkozy - President of France
Head of Government: Philippe Gomès (Caledonie Ensemble - CE)
Philip Gomes (Caledonie Ensemble): responsible for mining, energy and international air transport.
Philippe Dunoyer (Caledonie Ensemble): responsible for the Koutio hospital project, lodging and relations with Congress
Philippe Germain (Caledonie Ensemble): responsible for the economy, industry and labour relations
Sonia Backes (Rassemblement-UMP): responsible for secondary and tertiary education.
Jean-Claude Briault (Rassemblement-UMP): responsible for youth affairs and sport, the organisation of the 2011 Pacific Games, municipal relations, civil security and promotion of French language.
Bernard Deladriere (Rassemblement-UMP): responsible for the budget, taxation and IT policy.
Simon Loueckhote (Avenir Ensemble/LMD): responsible for the public service, administrative reform and planning for New Caledonia’s development.
Dewe Gorodey (FLNKS/Uni): responsible for culture, woman’s affairs and citizenship.
Louis d’Anglebermes (Union Caledonienne): responsible for ecology, sustainable development, agriculture, breeding and fishing.
Pierre Ngaiohni (Union Caledonienne): Vice President of the Government and responsible for professional training, customary affairs and relations with the Customary Senate as well as societal issues.
Yann Deveilliers (Union Caledonienne): responsible for public infrastructure and domestic air land and sea travel.
Political parties in New Caledonia tend to be divided between those that favour New Caledonia remaining part of France (the loyalists) and those that favour independence (the ‘independentistes’), with varying nuances between the parties supporting each of these positions.
Rassemblement-Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (R-UMP): 13 seats
Calédonie Ensemble: 10 seats
L’Avenir Ensemble: 6 seats
Rassemblement pour la Calédonie: 2 seats
UNI FLNKS: 8 seats
Union Calédonienne: 8 seats
FLNKS: 3 seats
Parti Travailliste: 3 seats
Libération Kanak Socialiste: 1 seat
Total: 54 seatsDeputies representing New Caledonia in the French National Assembly: Gaël Yanno, Pierre Frogier
Senator in the French Parliament: Simon Loueckhote
President (Speaker) of the New Caledonian Congress: Harold Martin
President of the Southern Province Assembly: Pierre Frogier
President of the Northern Province Assembly: Paul Néaoutyine
President of the Loyalty Islands Province Assembly: Neko Hnepeune
Secretary-General of the High Commissioner: Thierry Suquet
Commander of the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC): General TramondGDP: XPF 769 million
GDP breakdown: Market sector services: 31%, Non market sector services: 21%, Agriculture: 2%, Nickel: 20%, Other industries: 6%, Construction: 9%, Commerce: 11%
GDP per capita: XPF 3.2 million
Real GDP growth: 4.6%
Exports (FOB): XPF 109.5 million
Main Exports: Nickel and nickel products: 94% (nickel: 15%, Ferro-nickels: 61%, nickel mattes: 18%), Other: 5%, Prawns: 1%
Export destinations: France: 20.6%, Other EU Countries: 20%, Japan: 20.4%, Taiwan: 12.8%, Australia: 7%, China: 6.4%, South Korea: 3.6%, Others: 9.2%
Imports (CIF): XPF 262.2 million
Main Imports: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 1%, Agricultural and food industry: 10%, Consumer goods: 12%, Automobile industry: 13%, Industrial assets: 18%, Secondary industrial assets: 21%, Energy: 19%, Other: 6%
Import origins: France: 26%, Other EU Countires: 16%, Singapore: 17%, Australia: 10%, New Zealand: 4%, United States: 4%, Japan: 3%, Other countries: 20%
Inflation (year to July 2009): 0.9%
Source: IEOM La Nouvelle Calédonie en 2008
NZ Exports ( FOB): NZ$200 million
Main Exports:
| Milk, fresh, UHT, milk preparations, cream | 27.07 |
| Iron or non-alloy steel | 25.7 |
| Timber | 12.5 |
| Meat | 16.4 |
| Engines, misc. engines | 11.2 |
| Paper | 9.3 |
| Vegetables & vegetable preparations | 7.3 |
| Sugar | 6.5 |
| Plastics, raw, semi furnished & finished products | 4.9 |
| Fruits | 4.6 |
NZ Imports (CIF): NZ$3.8 million
Main Imports:
| Vehicles & parts | 1.8M |
| Aluminium waste & scrap | 547,369 |
| Lemons & limes | 412,965 |
| Squash, gourds & eggplants | 234,333 |
| Frozen shrimps & prawns | 178,551 |
| Misc. engine parts, gearboxes | 145, 912 |
| Sulphur | 105,608 |
| Electrical & electronics | 59.524 |
| Steel, iron, metal items | 30.716 |
| Medical apparatus, optical instruments, measurement ins. | 21.117 |
Services Trade: Provision of services to the mining industry, and to education
Source: New Zealand Trade & Enterprise New Caledonia Country Brief 2009
New Caledonia is an overseas collectivity of France, with a unique constitutional arrangement. This is laid out in the Nouméa Accord, which was signed in 1998, and is the “successor” to the 1988 Matignon Accords which followed a period of civil unrest between pro-independence and loyalist factions (i.e those who want New Caledonia to remain part of France). The Nouméa Accord sets out a process for France to hand over responsibilities for non-regalian sectors (i.e those that do not involve defence, foreign policy, justice, public order, money), with the possibility of an eventual referendum on independence during the period 2014 – 2018. Local politics remain divided along pro-independence and pro-France lines.
New Caledonia has a relatively high GDP per capita (comparable to New Zealand), but there are significant disparities in income distribution (both geographically and ethnically). Although New Caledonia has significant nickel resources, which account for 90% of its export earnings, it is still heavily reliant on financial transfers from France which account for approximately 25% of GDP.
As New Caledonia increasingly looks to be more integrated within the Pacific region it has sought New Zealand (and Australian) expertise and advice, and we now enjoy a good bilateral relationship with regular exchange at both officials and Ministerial level across a wide range of sectors. New Caledonia is New Zealand’s second largest export destination in the Pacific, at over NZ$200 million to June 2008. Over recent years New Caledonia has also begun to increase its engagement with the wider region, and in 2006 became an Associate Member of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Kanaks, the indigenous Melanesian people of New Caledonia, originally settled New Caledonia over 6000 years ago. These first settlers probably migrated from New Guinea and Vanuatu. Polynesian groups added to the remarkable cultural diversity of New Caledonia by later settling in the Loyalty Islands. Kanak traditional society was based on subsistence agriculture and there are now 341 tribal groupings. Prior to European contact, the population was estimated at 60,000. According to the 1996 Census, there are 86,788 Kanaks living in New Caledonia. The results of a census carried out in August 2009 are expected to be released before the end of the year.
Even though New Caledonia was "discovered" by Captain James Cook in 1774, France annexed New Caledonia on 24 September 1853. From 1863 New Caledonia was officially designated a penal colony until this was abolished by the first civil governor, Feuillet, in 1896. By this time over 20,000 convicts had been sent out to New Caledonia. Further European settlement on the main island of Grande Terre demanded the appropriation of Kanak land and fueled the expansion of cattle farming. Large-scale land alienations and social discontent with successive colonial administrations led to two major Kanak uprisings in 1878-9 and 1917.
Gold, chrome, cobalt and nickel were discovered and mined from the 1870s. By the start of the twentieth century, New Caledonia was one of the world's major suppliers of nickel ore. During the Second World War, New Caledonia's strategic importance made it the ideal location for the United States to set up its military infrastructure to eliminate the Japanese threat from the South Pacific. Approximately 20,000 New Zealand soldiers were stationed in New Caledonia during WWII.
In 1946 France made New Caledonia an "Overseas Territory of France" with limited autonomy. The Territory was allocated two seats in the French National Assembly and one in the Senate. After the war, France also introduced a series of political and social reforms to improve Kanak rights, significantly below those of the European population. For example, in 1946 Kanaks were allowed to leave their reservations and in 1951 they were granted voting rights and access to secondary education.
There has also been significant immigration to New Caledonia from French territory Wallis and Futuna, the local population in New Caledonia being approximately 20,000 (compared to a population of 13,500 in Wallis and Futuna itself). Tension between Kanaks (Melanesian) and Wallis and Futunans (Polynesians) is not uncommonIn response to the forces of decolonisation in Africa and increasing French migratory flows, the Kanak independence movement was launched in the 1970s. The movement drew steady support from other Melanesian countries in the region and gradually gained momentum in the 1980s. In 1984 the Kanak National Socialist Liberation Front (FLNKS) was founded as an umbrella organisation for the pro-independence parties, and later that year established a provisional independent government. This triggered violent confrontations between independentistes and the loyalist settler community, which cost an estimated 80 lives from 1984-88. The escalating violence was eventually halted with the conclusion of the Matignon Accords on 26 June 1988 between the FLNKS, the loyalist RPCR, and the French Government.
The 1988 Matignon Accords provided for greater local autonomy (including provincial governments) and substantial aid designed to redress deep inequalities between the French and Kanak communities, while committing the Territory to a self-determination referendum ten years later. The Accords re-established peace in New Caledonia, but not before the assassination of FLNKS leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou and his deputy Yeiwene Yeiwene on 4 May 1989 by an independence extremist opposed to the Accords.
In April 1998 the three Matignon Accords partners (the French State, RPCR and FLNKS) agreed on a new statute defining the Territory's institutions and its relations with France. The agreement, termed the "Nouméa Accord", steered a middle course between the respective political aspirations of the RPCR and FLNKS, and avoided the need for a divisive yes-no referendum on independence. It was signed on 5 May 1998 during a visit to New Caledonia by French Prime Minister Jospin, and approved by 72% of New Caledonians in a referendum on 8 November 1998. The Accord was subsequently ratified by the French National Assembly and Senate. As a result, New Caledonia is no longer a French Overseas Territory but has its own special status within the French Constitution, with enhanced autonomy. The country's statute also makes provision for New Caledonia eventually to change its name, flag and national anthem to express the territory’s unique cultural identity, notably its Kanak elements.
Between 1998 and 2018, the Accord commits France to transfer responsibility over all areas of government (except the "regalian" powers of defence, justice, public order, money and some areas of external affairs) to New Caledonia's government, congress and provincial assemblies. Throughout the 20-year life of the Nouméa Accord, France and New Caledonia will share responsibility for mining regulations, higher education and research, broadcasting, air services, immigration, regional relations and some international relations. Sometime between 2014 and 2018 a restricted electoral corps will choose to vote on whether or not New Caledonia should acquire the remaining sovereign powers, which would effectively make the country independent.
The contentious issue of the proper interpretation of New Caledonia's electoral corps under the Nouméa Accord was resolved in 2007 after changes to the French Constitution were voted by the French National Assembly and Senate. This result means that only those people who can prove ten years of residence in New Caledonia at the time of the 1998 referendum on the Nouméa Accord, or who have one parent that meets the requirement, will be able to vote in provincial (general) elections to elect representatives to the Provincial Assemblies and New Caledonian Congress, scheduled for 2009 and 2014.The elections in May 2004 were a turning point for New Caledonia with Jacques Lafleur’s Rassemblement pour la Calédonie dans la République (RPCR) party losing its majority after over 20 years in power. Pierre Frogier, former President of New Caledonia, took over the RPCR in 2005 and changed its name to Rassemblement-UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) or R-UMP. In August 2006 Jacques Lafleur announced the establishment of a new party – the Rassemblement Pour la Calédonie (RPC).
While, L’Avenir Ensemble (AE), a pro-France party formed by opponents of Lafleur and former President Pierre Frogier had managed to pick up four seats
in 2004, there was no significant alteration in the balance of power between pro-France and pro-independence parties. The RPCR also picked up four seats and the pro-independence parties three. Until her resignation on 23 July 2007, President Marie-Noëlle Themereau (AE) governed with the support of an alliance of the pro-independence parties and the pro-France National Front.
Following the election of Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) as President of France in April 2007, New Caledonia underwent another significant political reshuffle. Gaël Yanno and Pierre Frogier (R-UMP) were elected as New Caledonia’s two Deputies to the French National Assembly. In May 2009, Congress elected a new government of 11 members drawn from the pro-France CE, R-UMP and AE parties (7), and the pro-independence Union Caledonienne (UC) and the Kanak Liberation Party (4). The immediate former President Harold Martin took over the role of Speaker in the Congress and Philippe Gomès of CE was elected President of the Government.
The two main pro-France parties currently represented in Congress are the R-UMP with 13 seats, and Calédonie Ensemble (CE) with 10 seats. The smaller loyalist parties L’Avenir Ensemble and the Rassemblement pour la Calédonie, hold 6 and 2 seats respectively. The loyalist parties hold 31 seats in the 54 seat Congress.
The Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) is the umbrella organisation for indépendentiste political parties. Its two largest constituent parties are the Union Calédonienne (UC) and the Kanak Liberation Party (Palika). A separate electoral coalition L’UNI-FLNKS comprises all members of the FLNKS with the exception of the Union Calédonienne. The indépendentistes are currently represented in Congress by 23 seats comprised of UNI-FLNKS with eight seats, the Union Calédonienne with eight seats, FLNKS with three seats, the Parti Travailliste (Workers Party) with three seats and the Libération Kanak Socialiste party with one seat. Indépendentiste parties have increased their representation in Congress by five seats at this election.
New Caledonia has one of the largest economies in the Pacific Island region, boasting a slightly higher GDP per capita than New Zealand though there are significant disparities in income distribution. New Caledonia is currently New Zealand’s second highest value export market in the Pacific.
Large financial transfers from the French Government help sustain a significant public sector. About half of this goes towards public service salaries, with the balance directed predominantly to health, education and special development projects, mostly in the Northern and Islands Provinces. A law aimed at reforming indexed retirement pensions for French Overseas Territories (75% higher pensions in New Caledonia than in France) was passed by the French Senate on 18 November 2008. As a result indexation levels on pensions will be progressively reduced from 2009 – 2028.
New Caledonia applies a number of trade barriers to protect local industry and employment. A preferential tariff regime for the entry of EU-origin products remains. New Caledonia consistently runs a trade deficit.
New Caledonia is heavily reliant on one export commodity, nickel (a key ingredient for stainless steel production) which accounts for over 90% of its export earnings. Behind Russia and Canada, New Caledonia is the world's third largest producer of nickel, with an estimated one quarter of the world's nickel reserves. Chrome and cobalt are also mined commercially, and deposits of iron, copper and gold have been found.
New Caledonia is unique in being a South Pacific economy predominately based on mining, and has some quite sophisticated domestic industries and services to support the mining sector. With expansion of nickel mining in both the Southern and Northern Provinces (at Goro and Koniambo respectively) by a range of private and publicly-owned companies, the nickel industry will become even more important to New Caledonia's economy, significantly increasing its contribution to GDP, and generating further employment opportunities in the longer term. However, the centrality of nickel to the economy, combined with a reduction in demand from the North Asian economies in particular, has seen rising unemployment in the nickel sector due to a significant drop in the global price. This price volatility due to the nickel industry’s cyclical nature has resulted in some recognition that there is a need to reduce economic uncertainty through economic diversification.
The combination of the two new nickel mining projects (the Vale Inco mine at Goro is now complete and awaiting commissioning while the Koniambo project is expected to enter into production in 2012) and budgetary support from the French state, will insulate New Caledonia in the medium to long term from the worst effects of the global financial crisis. The remainder of the economy has so far been largely unaffected by the global financial crisis, with growth expected to fall from a rate of 6% prior to the crisis to 3-4% during 2009. Construction projects in the mining industry will continue to provide a platform for growth, although the tourism industry is set to deteriorate due to reduced tourist arrivals and the high cost compared to other regional destinations.
The construction sector is healthy, and accounts for roughly 8.6% of GDP, employing 9.6% of the salaried population in 2006. Manufacturing remains small scale and is largely focused on the transformation of foodstuffs, textiles and plastics. Nevertheless, the sector accounts for approximately 13% of GDP.Tourism is a sector the government is trying to develop, and is being actively promoted as a means of economic diversification and employment in coming years. After the record figure of 109,933 tourists in 2002, numbers have leveled at around the 100,000 mark. Cruise ship arrivals also bring increasing numbers of visitors to Nouméa and the Loyalty Islands for short visits. An 80 million Euro upgrade of the airport is due to be completed in 2011.
top of page
Agriculture officially employs only 5% of the population and makes up 1.4% of GDP, though it forms the basis of much of the indigenous population's subsistence economy. Production in most areas is heavily subsidised and prices controlled. Agricultural output is hampered by a number of factors including labour diversion to the more lucrative mining industry. Tropical cyclones have also taken their toll on crops over recent years and there remains a heavy reliance on imports to meet demand.
Since 1998 New Caledonia has been gradually expanding its international and regional links to reflect its evolving constitutional relationship with France. Under the Nouméa Accord, New Caledonia can establish diplomatic representation in the Pacific and the European Union, as well as conclude international agreements in its areas of competency. In 1999 New Caledonia became an observer of the Pacific Islands Forum, and achieved Associate membership in 2006. In April 2001, New Caledonia participated in the first Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC) preparatory conference held in New Zealand. In 2001, New Caledonia hosted for the first time a meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), a group for which the FLNKS was a founding member. The Pacific's oldest regional organisation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), is also based in Nouméa.
top of page
The relationship between New Zealand and New Caledonia has been developing strongly in recent years and covers a wide range of issues of mutual interest. High-level political contact between New Zealand and New Caledonia has expanded, and there have been regular exchanges at officials’ level in the areas of trade, defence, security, customs, education, youth, tourism, labour, transport, conservation, culture and sports. The New Caledonian and French Governments financed the New Caledonia Season in New Zealand during 2007, and New Zealand welcomed a New Caledonian delegation to its Youth Parliament in 2007.
New Caledonia is currently New Zealand's second largest bilateral trading partner in the Pacific. Total exports from New Zealand to New Caledonia for 2008 were NZ$200 million. New Caledonian exports are modest because of the Territory's overwhelming reliance on mineral exports, and because local production costs are high. Reduction of tariff barriers and liberalisation of quantitative restrictions in New Zealand have therefore had little impact on New Caledonian exports to date.
The last five years have seen a slow but steady growth in New Zealand tourist numbers to New Caledonia as a result of the opening of a New Caledonia Tourism Promotion Office in Auckland. In 2007 there was a 36.7% increase in visitors from New Zealand, largely as a result of two-for-one deals run by New Caledonia's airline Aircalin. In the same year around 11,600 New Caledonians visited New Zealand for tourism purposes.
In November 1999 Air New Zealand increased its operations from one to two services a week. This brought weekly passenger services between Nouméa and Auckland to four, including those of Aircalin. The two airlines agreed to code-share their four flights from April 2002. Aircalin operates a separate weekly airfreight flight. Additional charter flights operate in peak periods as required.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC) cooperate in a range of areas, including response to natural disasters, search and rescue operations and maritime surveillance. There are regular senior-level reciprocal defence visits, including over the last three years by the Minister of Defence, the Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, New Zealand Chief of Defence Force, Chief of Air Staff, Maritime Commander and Deputy Chief of General Staff. The Commander of the French Naval Forces in the Pacific, Rear Admiral Fred Maurice, visited in May 2008 for exchanges with senior New Zealand Defence and Foreign Affairs staff. Former FANC Commander General Martial de Braquilanges visited New Zealand in October 2008, and the new FANC Commander General Tramond visited New Zealand in September 2009.
In 2006, then French Minister for Overseas France, François Baroin, made a four-day visit to New Zealand during which time he signed a tripartite Maritime Surveillance and Cooperation Agreement. Regular exercises are conducted between NZDF and FANC, particularly the Southern Cross Exercise which is held every two years, and ship visits in both directions are frequent. In September 2008 the FANC played an active part in Proliferation Security Initiative Exercise Maru, held in Auckland, contributing a naval vessel and a medium-range patrol aircraft as well as personnel. ANZAC commemorations are well-attended by both New Zealand, French and New Caledonian dignitaries, and the New Zealand war cemetery in Bourail is testament to approximately 20,000 New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during the Second World War.
Implementation of President Sarkozy’s ‘Livre Blanc’ (White Paper) on military reform will likely see modest reductions to the FANC presence in New Caledonia. Under the reform, New Caledonia is to become France’s principal regional military hub for the Pacific.
New Zealand is a popular destination for New Caledonian students wishing to learn English. They are able to undertake up to three months of study visa-free. As French citizens they also benefit from domestic fees at post-graduate level at New Zealand universities. The University of New Caledonia has signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Auckland, which includes provision for student exchanges, and also has research links with Massey University.
The New Zealand Consulate-General in Nouméa manages a modest NZAID programme of short-term training awards. The programme provides short-term training in New Zealand with the objective of enhancing equitable social and economic development in the territories. The awards target disadvantaged young people living in the regions and provinces, and cover English language training, technical courses and/or work attachments.
These scholarships have been offered in New Caledonia since 1986 and over 200 New Caledonians have benefitted from the scheme. There are currently ten New Caledonian students pursuing studies in New Zealand under the scheme for the 2008/09 academic year.
Besides political, defence and trade relations, other links are fostered under the aegis of the New Zealand/France Cultural Agreement and the Friendship Fund which has helped to improve contacts between New Zealand and New Caledonia. There are also increasing sporting, scientific and official exchanges. Taupo and Nouméa are sister cities. In 2006, the New Caledonia Government, in association with France and New Zealand, announced a year-long “Season of New Caledonia” in New Zealand to promote understanding and foster greater cultural and sporting linkages between the two countries.
New Zealand is represented in New Caledonia by the New Zealand Consulate General in Noumea, New Caledonia
New Caledonia is represented in New Zealand by the New Zealand Embassy of France in Wellington, New Zealand
The Safetravel website also provides a travel advisory for travellers to New Caledonia [external link].
