New Caledonia
Oceania · Capital: Nouméa
How it is run: New Caledonia is a territory or observer, so some decisions about it are made elsewhere. The research links below explain who is in charge.
New Caledonia is home to 295,333 people in Melanesia, where people speak French.
Numbers that tell a story 🔢
👥 People
295,333 people
That is about 36 people out of every million on Earth (counted in 2025).
🗺️ Land
18,575 km²
About the size of a small US state such as Vermont or New Hampshire.
🏙️ How crowded
Only about 16 people per square kilometre — lots of wide open space between towns.
📊 Size in its region
7th most people in Oceania
5th largest by land in Oceania.
🗣️ Official languages
French
💰 Money
CFP franc (₣)
Life here today 🩺
These come from World Bank open data — the same numbers governments use when they argue about budgets.
❤️ How long people live
78.9 years on average
One of the healthier countries — good hospitals and clean water make a big difference.
💼 Money made per person each year
about US$29,213
An upper-middle-income country: growing cities, and more families joining the middle class.
🏢 Living in cities
68.2% of people
Many people still live in villages and farming towns.
🎒 Kids under 15
21.1% of the population
A fairly balanced mix of young and old.
Everyday details 🧭
📞 Phone code
+687
Dial this before the number to call from another country.
🌐 Websites end in
.nc
🧑 People here are called
New Caledonian
🏷️ Name at home
Nouvelle-Calédonie
🌊 Coast or inland
Has a coastline
🕊️ UN voting group
Not a UN member
Neighbours & borders 🤝
New Caledonia has no land borders at all. It is surrounded by water, so boats and planes are the way in and out.
Say its name around the world 🗣️
Countries have different names in different languages. Try these with a penpal.
Spanish
Nueva Caledonia
French
Nouvelle-Calédonie
Arabic
كاليدونيا الجديدة
Chinese
新喀里多尼亚
Japanese
ニューカレドニア
Russian
Новая Каледония
Portuguese
Nova Caledónia
German
Neukaledonien
Put it in perspective 📏
- Australia — the most populated country in Oceania — has about 93.5× as many people as New Caledonia.
- New Caledonia covers roughly 177 times the area of Hong Kong Island.
- If everyone in New Caledonia lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch about 148 km.
Fast facts 🧠
Fact of the day: New Caledonia is not a full UN member state, so it doesn't get its own vote in the General Assembly.
🏷️ Official name
New Caledonia
🏙️ Capital
Nouméa
🌍 Region
Oceania · Melanesia
🔤 Country code
NC
🕊️ UN status
Not a UN member state
🚩 Independence
Linked territory
More about New Caledonia 🔎
🧭 Where on the map
21.5° S, 165.5° E
🌐 Half of the world
Southern & Eastern hemisphere
🕰️ Clock check
Roughly UTC+11 — when it is noon in London it is about 23:00 in Nouméa.
- The capital of New Caledonia is Nouméa — that's where the country's big decisions get made.
- Because of where New Caledonia sits, the school day there starts many hours before or after yours does.
- New Caledonia is not a full UN member state, so it doesn't get its own vote in the General Assembly.
- New Caledonia sits in Melanesia, in the southern and eastern half of the globe.
- New Caledonia lies in the tropics, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, so the sun gets very high overhead.
Countries nearby 🤝
Talk about it 💬
- New Caledonia has 1 official language. How would your school day change if lessons were taught in more than one language?
- New Caledonia can trade by sea. What should a country protect first: its ports, its fishing waters, or its beaches?
- If New Caledonia spoke at the General Assembly tomorrow, what one problem should its delegate ask the world to help fix?
Quick quiz 🧪
Guess first, then tap to check your answer.
What is the capital of New Caledonia?
Nouméa
Which money do people spend in New Caledonia?
CFP franc (₣)
How many countries share a land border with New Caledonia?
None — no land neighbours at all.
Roughly how many people live in New Caledonia?
295,333 people
Keep researching 🔍
Everything here is a starting point. These trusted sites, databases and libraries will take you further — and they are the kind of sources a teacher will accept in a report.
Start here — kid-friendly encyclopedias 📚
Short articles written for students, with maps and photos you can use in a report.
Official data & government sources 🏛️
Primary sources. Cite these when your teacher asks for real data.
News & current policy 📰
Use two different outlets before you decide what you think.
Your library card 🏫
Libraries give you books, databases and librarians — all free.
Library tip: Ask your school or public librarian for their online databases (like Gale in Context or EBSCO Explora). Your library card unlocks them for free at home, and they are already checked by adults for school use.