Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
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.
- Capital
- Noumea
- Government
- parliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France
- Population
- 307,612
- Area
- 18,575 sq km
- Location
- Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
- Climate
- tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid
- Natural resources
- nickel; chrome; iron; cobalt; manganese; silver…
- Languages
- French (official); 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
- Religions
- Christian 85.2%; Muslim 2.8%; other 1.6%; unaffiliated 10.4%
- Independence
- none (overseas collectivity of France)
- Administrative divisions
- 3 provinces; Province Iles (Islands Province), Province Nord (North Province), and Province Sud (South Province)
- Currency
- Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF)
- Export partners
- China 75%; Japan 9%; Taiwan 3%; India 3%…
- Import partners
- France 36%; Singapore 16%; Australia 15%; China 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain