World Factbook
New Caledonia
Territoire des Nouvelle-Calédonie et dépendances
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
Languages
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
major-language sample(s)
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Christian 85.2%, Muslim 2.8%, other 1.6%, unaffiliated 10.4% (2020 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.01 male(s)/female
total population
0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.77 male(s)/female
Birth rate
13.6 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
33.5 years
total
34.6 years (2025 est.)
female
35.1 years
Population
male
153,036
total
307,612 (2025 est.)
female
154,576
Nationality
noun
New Caledonian(s)
adjective
New Caledonian
Urbanization
urban population
72.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
20.7% (male 32,238/female 30,858)
15-64 years
68.4% (male 104,825/female 103,349)
65 years and over
10.8% (2024 est.) (male 14,326/female 18,571)
Ethnic groups
Kanak 39.1%, European 27.1%, Wallisian, Futunian 8.2%, Tahitian 2.1%, Indonesian 1.4%, Ni-Vanuatu 1%, Vietnamese 0.9%, other 17.7%, unspecified 2.5% (2014 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
46.2 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
30 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
6.2 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
16.2 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.24 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Net migration rate
3.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.82 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: total
total: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total
4.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
3.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.11% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.89 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
most of the populace lives in the southern part of the main island, in and around the capital of Noumea
Life expectancy at birth
male
75.4 years
female
83.3 years
total population
79.3 years (2024 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Major urban areas - population
198,000 NOUMEA (capital) (2018)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
46.4% (2019 est.)