Polity · 1856 CE – present
New Caledonia
Kanaky · Calédonie · Nouvelle-Calédonie
- Peak recorded area
- 93,502 km²
- 1859 CE
- Rulers on record
- 36
- from 1884 CE
- Data series
- 180
- 1950 CE–2025 CE
Overview
New Caledonia is a French territory comprising a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 220 km (140 mi) southwest of Vanuatu and 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia. Located 16,100 km (10,000 mi) from Metropolitan France, it forms a sui generis collectivity of the French Republic, a legal status unique in overseas France, enshrined in a dedicated chapter of the French Constitution and with an on-going project to a status of State of New Caledonia.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 295.3Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 79.07years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 440persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.896% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 81.53years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 76.63years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 89 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 77.3Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 631ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 7,355.27tonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Yield64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 11.7Khg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Chickens Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 618head2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Coffee Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 7ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Territory & resources
6 of 44 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.3266% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 45.83% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 10.07%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0206hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 184Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5,970ha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Development
6 of 19 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10048 obs · 1960 CE–2022 CE | 91.68per_1002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access Rural %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access Urban %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Basic Sanitation Access %25 obs · 2000 CE–2024 CE | 100%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Basic Water Access %25 obs · 2000 CE–2024 CE | 99.54%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
36 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Adolphe Le BoucherGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1884 CE – 1886 CE
- Jacques OrtusGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1886 CE
- Louis Hippolyte Marie NouetGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1886 CE – 1888 CE
- Charles RognonGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1905 CE – 1906 CE
- Victor LiotardGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1906 CE – 1908 CE
- Jules Louis RichardGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1908 CE – 1913 CE
- Adrien Jules Jean BonhoureGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1909 CE – 1910 CE
- Jules RepiquetGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1914 CE – 1923 CE
- Laurent PéchouxGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1958 CE – 1963 CE
- Marc Casimir BirosGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1963 CE – 1965 CE
- Louis VergerGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1969 CE – 1973 CE
- Gabriel ÉriauGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1974 CE – 1978 CE
- Claude CharbonniaudGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1978 CE – 1981 CE
- Christian NucciGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1981 CE – 1982 CE
- Jacques RoynetteGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1982 CE – 1984 CE
- Edgard PisaniGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1985 CE
- Fernand WibauxGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1985 CE – 1986 CE
- Jean MontpezatGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1986 CE – 1987 CE
- Clément BouhinGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1987 CE – 1988 CE
- Bernard GrassetGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1988 CE – 1990 CE
- Alain ChristnachtGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1991 CE – 1994 CE
- Didier CultiauxGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1994 CE – 1995 CE
- Dominique BurGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1995 CE – 1999 CE
- Thierry LatasteGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia1999 CE – 2002 CE
- Pierre FrogierPresident of the Government of New Caledonia2001 CE – 2004 CE
- Daniel ConstantinGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2002 CE – 2005 CE
- Michel MathieuGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2005 CE – 2007 CE
- Yves DassonvilleGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2007 CE – 2010 CE
- Albert DupuyGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2010 CE – 2013 CE
- Jean-Jacques BrotGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2013 CE – 2014 CE
- Vincent BouvierGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2014 CE – 2016 CE
- Laurent PrévostGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2019 CE – 2021 CE
- Louis MapouPresident of the Government of New Caledonia2021 CE –
- Patrice FaureGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2021 CE – 2023 CE
- Louis Le FrancGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2023 CE – 2025 CE
- Jacques BillantGovernor of the Republic in New Caledonia2025 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
- Government type
- parliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by High Commissioner Jacques BILLANT (since 3 May 2025); head of government: President of the Government Alcide PONGA (since 8 January 2025); cabinet: Cabinet elected from and by the Territorial Congress;
- 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.)
- Natural resources
- nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper
- Economy
- upper-middle-income French Pacific territorial economy; enormous nickel reserves; ongoing French independence negotiations; large Chinese nickel exporter; luxury eco-tourism destination; large French aid recipient; high cost-of-living; lingering wealth disparities
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- French
- Currency
- Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF)
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
New Caledonia is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.