ECONOMY
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.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.158 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
NA
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30%
services: 65% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.6% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
19% (1996)
Budget:
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of
$52 million (1996 est.)
Agriculture - products:
vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products
Industries:
nickel mining and smelting
Industrial production growth rate:
-0.6% (1996)
Electricity - production:
1.613 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
1.5 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Exports:
$448 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
ferronickels, nickel ore, fish
Exports - partners:
Japan 21.8%, France 19.2%, Taiwan 14%, Spain 11%, South Korea
8.5%, Australia 7.2%, Italy 5.1% (2003)
Imports:
$1.007 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
France 46.1%, Australia 9.5%, Singapore 9.3%, New Zealand 4.3%
(2003)
Debt - external:
$79 million (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$880 million annual subsidy from France (1998)
Currency:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt
the euro in 2003
Currency code:
XPF
Exchange rates:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 105.73
(2003), 126.72 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
