New Caledonia

The first humans settled in New Caledonia around 1600 B.C. The Lapita were skilled navigators, and evidence of their pottery around the Pacific has served as a guide for understanding human expansion in the region. Successive waves of migrants from other islands in Melanesia intermarried with the Lapita, giving rise to the Kanak ethnic group considered indigenous to New Caledonia. British explorer James COOK was the first European to visit New Caledonia in 1774, giving it the Latin name for Scotland. Missionaries first landed in New Caledonia in 1840. In 1853, France annexed New Caledonia to preclude any British attempt to claim the island. France declared it a penal colony in 1864 and sent more than 20,000 prisoners to New Caledonia in the ensuing three decades.<br><br>Nickel was discovered in 1864, and French prisoners were directed to mine it. France brought in indentured servants and enslaved labor from elsewhere in Southeast Asia to work the mines, blocking Kanaks from accessing the most profitable part of the local economy. In 1878, High Chief ATAI led a rebellion against French rule. The Kanaks were relegated to reservations, leading to periodic smaller uprisings and culminating in a large revolt in 1917 that colonial authorities brutally suppressed. During World War II, New Caledonia became an important base for Allied troops, and the US moved its South Pacific headquarters to the island in 1942. Following the war, France made New Caledonia an overseas territory and granted French citizenship to all inhabitants in 1953, thereby permitting the Kanaks to move off the reservations.<br><br>The Kanak nationalist movement began in the 1950s, but most voters chose to remain a territory in an independence referendum in 1958. The European population of New Caledonia boomed in the 1970s with a renewed focus on nickel mining, reigniting Kanak nationalism. Key Kanak leaders were assassinated in the early 1980s, leading to escalating violence and dozens of fatalities. The Matignon Accords of 1988 provided for a 10-year transition period. The Noumea Accord of 1998 transferred increasing governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia over a 20-year period and provided for three independence referenda. In the first held in 2018, voters rejected independence by 57% to 43%; in the second held in 2020, voters rejected independence 53% to 47%. In the third referendum held in 2021, voters rejected independence 96% to 4%; however, a boycott by key Kanak groups spurred challenges about the legitimacy of the vote. Pro-independence parties subsequently won a majority in the New Caledonian Government for the first time. France and New Caledonia officials remain in talks about the status of the territory.

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia

21 30 S, 165 30 E

Oceania

slightly smaller than New Jersey

2,254 km

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

coastal plains with interior mountains

nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper

100 sq km (2012)

most of the populace lives in the southern part of the main island, in and around the capital of Noumea

cyclones, most frequent from November to March <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> Matthew and Hunter Islands are historically active

consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaut&eacute;, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls

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.)

Christian 85.2%, Muslim 2.8%, other 1.6%, unaffiliated 10.4% (2020 est.)

1.11% (2025 est.)

13.6 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most of the populace lives in the southern part of the main island, in and around the capital of Noumea

198,000 NOUMEA (capital) (2018)

1.82 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.89 (2025 est.)

0.24 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

46.4% (2019 est.)

preservation of coral reefs; prevention of invasive species; limiting erosion caused by nickel mining and forest fires

tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

parliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France

special collectivity of France

3 provinces; Province Iles (Islands Province), Province Nord (North Province), and Province Sud (South Province)

civil law system based on French civil law

see France

18 years of age; universal

Caledonia Together or CE <br>Caledonian Union or UC <br>Future With Confidence or AEC <br>Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS (alliance includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM) <br>Labor Party or PT <br>National Union for Independence or UNI <br>Oceanian Awakening <br>Party of Kanak Liberation or PALIKA <br>Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS <br>The Republicans (formerly The Rally or UMP) 

none (overseas territory of France)

ITUC (NGOs), PIF, SPC, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WMO

none (overseas collectivity of France)

Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790)

<strong>description:</strong> the country has two official flags with equal status, the flag of France and the Kanak (ethnic Melanesian) flag; the latter consists of three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a large yellow disk shifted slightly to the left side is edged in black and displays a black <em>fleche faîtière</em> symbol, a native rooftop adornment

fl&egrave;che fa&icirc;ti&egrave;re (native rooftop adornment), kagu bird

grey, red

the emblem features two symbols of the local Kanak people: the fl&egrave;che fa&icirc;ti&egrave;re, which is a common rooftop adornment on houses, and the nautilus shell, which represents the sea; the third part of the emblem is a stylized representation of a New Caledonia pine tree

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

$10.129 billion (2024 est.)

coconuts, vegetables, fruits, pork, beef, maize, eggs, bananas, yams, oranges (2023)

nickel mining and smelting

130,800 (2024 est.)

China 75%, Japan 9%, Taiwan 3%, India 3%, France 2% (2023)

iron alloys, nickel, nickel ore, processed crustaceans, shellfish (2023)

France 36%, Singapore 16%, Australia 15%, China 6%, NZ 3% (2023)

refined petroleum, coal, cars, aircraft, packaged medicine (2023)

the publicly owned French Overseas Network (RFO), which operates in France's overseas departments and territories, broadcasts over the RFO Nouvelle-Cal&eacute;donie TV and radio stations; a small number of privately owned radio stations also broadcast

.nc

21 (2025)

2 (2025)

no regular military forces; Territorial Directorate of the National Police of New Caledonia (DTPN), Gendarmerie of New Caledonia (2025)

defense is the responsibility of France, which bases land, air, and naval forces on New Caledonia (Forces Arm&eacute;es de la Nouvelle-Cal&eacute;donie, FANC)