Nouveau-Dauphiné
Introduction
Background: The arrival of French Catholic missionaries in Nouveau-Dauphiné in the 1820's and 1830's presaged the French protectorate over the islands declared in 1838. In the next two generations, epidemics and warfare decimated the indigenous Maori population, while enough French colonists arrived to outnumber the Maori by five-to-one and to see the islands integrated into France as two départements d'outremer. In the 20th century, though, a biracial nationalism grew that led to the eventual independence of Nouveau-Dauphiné from France in 1972, as a founding member of the South Pacific Confederation. Since independence, Nouveau-Dauphiné has been faced with the pressing task of improving living standards to western European or Australian levels, and of integrating the young nation's Maori and Pacific immigrant populations into the full life of the country.
Geography
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 S, 174 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 268 680 sq km
land: 268 670 sq km
water: 10 sq km
note: includes îles Antipodes, îles Nouvelle-Grenobles, îles-de-la-Bonté, île Fonquingont, îles Chatham, and îles Kermadec
Area - comparative: about the size of Sweden
Coastline: 15,134 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 km or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Aoraki 3 764 m
Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 40%
forests and woodland: 36%
other: 10% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1 470 km2 (1995)
Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity
Environment - current issues include deforestation, soil erosion, and the negative impact of imported species upon native flora and fauna
Environment - international agreements: party to: League Environmental Pact of 1986, LEP-Montevideo Protocol, LEP-Prague Protocol
People
Population: 984 960 (January 2002 estimate)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 25%
15-64 years: 67%
65 years and over: 8%
Population growth rate: 2.41% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 21.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 8.9 migrants/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.30 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Urban Population: 80%
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.7 years
male: 72.1 years
female: 75.3 years (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Néo-Dauphinois/Néo-Dauphinoise/Néo-Dauphinois(e)s; Aotearoans
adjective: New Zealand
Major ethnic groups: New Zealand European (pakéha) 40.7%, Maori 29.8%, Pacific Islander (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan) 24.8%
Religions: Roman Catholic 43%, Baptist 12%, other Protestant 18%, unspecified or none 27% (2001 est)
Languages: French, Maori (official); declining Occitan dialects and Catalan spoken by settlers, Polynesian languages spoken by recent immigrants
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% (2001 est.)
male: 94%
female: 96%
Government
Country names: Nouveau-Dauphiné; Aotearoa
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: ND; AT
Constitutions: National Charter of Fundamental Rights (Charte nationale des droits fondamentales); Charter of the South Pacific Confederation (Charte de la Confédération du Pacifique-Sud)
Legal system: based on French law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory World Court jurisdiction, without reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Capital: Nouvelle-Grenoble
Administrative divisions: Nouveau-Dauphiné is a unitary republic, divided into 278 communes
Independence: 17 May 1972 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 May (1972)
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Étienne LEROUX (since 19 August 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Pierre FURAROA (since 19 August 1998)
cabinet: President elected by direct popular vote in national legislative elections
prime minister: following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is appointed prime minister by the president for a four-year term
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies
(Chambre des députés) (100 seats; members elected
by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 August 1998 (next must be called by August 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) 34%, Pacific Union Party (Parti d'union Pacifique) 29%, Conservative Party (Parti conservateur) 13%, Maori League (Ligue maori) 11%, other five registered parties 13%
seats by party - Socialists 38, PUP 25, ML 17, CP 11, other five registered parties 9
note: Socialist Party and Pacific Union Party formed the government coalition; the Conservative Party became the opposition party
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour
suprème); Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel)
Major international organizations of which a
member: Interpol, League of Nations and associated institutions/pacts, Oceanic
Pact, South Pacific Confederation
Flag description: red-white-blue tricolour with
four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in blue right-hand panel
of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation
Economy
Economy - overview: Although Nouveau-Dauphiné is a First World economy, GDP per capita has remained low owing to the small Néo-Dauphinois and South Pacific populations, the rapid increase of the Néo-Dauphinoise working-age population over the last half-century, and Nouveau-Dauphiné's isolation from world markets. Since the Third World War Nouveau-Dauphiné has prospered owing to its sale of its agricultural products in the world market, the electronics industry brought by American refugees has achieved global success, and the growth of the tourism industry has brought needed capital. Accordingly per capita GDP has been converging with the levels of the major European economies, but the islands' heavy dependence on trade leaves the national economy vulnerable to economic performance elsewhere, while unemployment and inflation both remain high.
GDP: purchasing power parity - 38 970 million
écus (2001)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - 39 600 écus (2001)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11%
industry: 20%
services: 69% (1998)
Labor force: 590 thousand (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 19%
Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 26%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.1% (2001)
Budget:
revenues: 17 300 million écus
expenditures: 18 500 million écus (FY97/98 est.)
Industries: food processing, wood and paper
products, textiles, machinery, tourism, mining
Agriculture - products: barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish
Exports: 9 700 million écus (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exported commodities: dairy products, meat, fish, wool, forestry products, manufactures
Export partners: Australia 34%, Japan 19%, South Pacific 13%, European Commonwealth 6% (1998)
Imports: 10 200 million écus (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imported commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum, consumer goods, plastics
Import partners: Australia 39%, Japan 15%, South Pacific 14%, European Commonwealth 11% (1998)
Debt - external: $53 billion (1998)
Economic aid - donor, via South Pacific Confederation Development Fund; 5 800 million écus (1999)
Currency: 1 South Pacific franc (SPf) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: South Pacific francs (SPf) per écu - 1.73 (January 2002)
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 814 thousand (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 362 thousand (1999)
Telephone system: excellent international and domestic systems
domestic: NA
international: submarine cables to Australia, Tahiti and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean), Réseau Ca'an uplinks
Radio broadcast stations: AM 36, FM 117, shortwave
2 (1999)
Radios: 1.34 million (1999)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (1999)
Televisions: 1.926 million (1997)
Euronet Servers: 41 (2000)
Transportation
Railways: total: 3 900 km
narrow gauge: 3 900 km 1.067-m gauge (800 km electrified) (1999)
Highways: total: 72 400 km
paved: 53 600 km
unpaved: 18 800 km (1999)
Waterways: 1 609 km; of little importance to
transportation
Ports and harbours: Nouvelle-Grenoble
Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42 100 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off 1 (1999)
Pipelines: petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1 000 km; liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 150 km
Airports: 103 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: 44
Airports - with unpaved runways: 57
Military
Military branches: Armed Forces of Nouveau-Dauphiné (Forces armées du Nouveau-Dauphiné)
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 250 100 (2000)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 185 600 (2000)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 24 000 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: 870 million écus (FY97/98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.6% (FY97/98)
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N.B.: This page is an edited version of "CIA -- The World Factbook 2000 -- New Zealand," located at:http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nz.html.
I acknowledge my inspiration from this CIA World Factbook page; I do not claim intellectual rights to either the CIA page or this page.