New Caledonia is a French special collectivity and archipelago in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres east of Australia and 220 kilometres southwest of Vanuatu. Part of Melanesia, it comprises the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Isle of Pines and several smaller island groups, covering 18,575 square kilometres divided into three provinces.
Home to 264,596 people as of April 2025, the territory has a unique legal status under the French Constitution and sits 16,100 kilometres from metropolitan France. The indigenous Kanak people, who make up 41 per cent of the population, refer to the archipelago as Kanaky, a term coined in the 1980s. Demographics vary sharply by province: Kanak communities predominate in the North and Loyalty Islands, while the capital Nouméa and the South Province host significant European, Polynesian and Southeast Asian populations. French locals call Grande Terre le Caillou (the Pebble), a nickname sometimes extended to the whole territory. New Caledonia maintains an association with the European Union as an overseas country and territory, reflecting its complex political ties between the Pacific and France.
