New Caledonia Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

New Caledonia: Population and Cities

Population

According to Countryaah website, New Caledonia has about 250,000 residents.

Ethnic groups

  • 42.5% Melanesians,
  • 37% Europeans,
  • 8.5% Islanders from the island of Wallis,
  • 3.4% Poynesians,
  • 3.5% Indonesians,
  • 1.5% Vietnamese,
  • 3% others

Religions

Roman Catholic are around 60% of the faithful, Protestants around 30% and others around 10%.

Languages

The official language is French. English and 33 Kanak dialects are also spoken, which are a mixture of Polynesian, French and English.

Capital, other cities

The capital of New Caledonia is Noumea on the main island of Grand Terre, with a population of around 100,000.

Other cities are:

Bourail with around 4,600 residents

Koné with around 4,000 residents.

New Caledonia: Geography and Map

Area and land use

New Caledonia covers an area of 19,060 km². Of this, 18,575 km² are land and 485 km² are water. Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of New Caledonia.

The main island of Grand Terre is 400 km long and 30 km wide. The Chain Centrale mountain range, in which the two highest mountains on the island lie, runs from north to south. It divides the island into the wet east coast and the drier west coast. The east coast is fertile, overgrown with tropical greenery and exposed to the prevailing easterly winds. The niauli tree can be found on the dry west coast. Livestock is farmed here.

Around the main islands there is a 1,600 km long coral reef with an average depth of 40 m. New Caledonia is the largest lagoon in the world.

The islands of the state

New Caledonia consists of the main island Grand Terre, with an area of 16,350 km², the Ile des Pins, with an area of 152 km² and the Loyalty Islands, which include the islands Lifou with 1,146 km², Maré with 657 km² and Ouvéa with 132 km² belong together. Then there are the Iles Belep with an area of 70 km².

Longitude and latitude

New Caledonia extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from about 19 ° south to 23 ° south Δλ = from about 158 ° east to 172 ° east

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Legal time

For New Caledonia, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time without summer time. A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:

Δt (CET) = + 10 h

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

Highest point of the sun in New Caledonia

New Caledonia lies on a southern latitude between around φ = 19 ° and φ = 23 ° and is therefore completely in the tropics. If the sun or its image point is located at a southern latitude of, for example, δ = 23 °, the sun is exactly perpendicular over this area. This happens twice a year, around two days before December 21 and around two days after December 21. (see position of the sun).

Mountains

Mont Panié

The highest mountain in the country is Mont Panié in the north of the main island, with a height of 1,628 m.

Mont Humbold

Another almost equally high mountain is Mont Humbold with a height of 1,618 m, it is located in the south of the main island.

rivers and lakes

Rivier Bleu

The longest river in the country is the Rivier Bleu.

Nera River

Another long river is the Nera River.

Lac de Yaté

The largest lake in the country is Lac de Yaté with an area of 40 km².

Pleine de lacs

Another large lake is the Pleine de lacs.

The Pacific

New Caledonia borders the Pacific Ocean with a total coastline of 2,255 km – to be more precise, New Caledonia lies in the South Pacific, the so-called South Pacific. This region of the Pacific Ocean includes the Polynesian Islands as well as parts of Melanesia and Micronesia.

New Caledonia Population