Nouméa is the capital and largest city of New Caledonia, a French special collectivity in the South Pacific, built on a peninsula at the southern tip of the main island, Grande Terre, around a protected deepwater harbor. As of April 2025 it held about 86,000 residents in the city proper and roughly 174,000 across greater Nouméa, making it the largest French speaking city in Oceania and home to a mix of European, Kanak, Polynesian and Asian communities. It remains New Caledonia's economic, administrative and cultural center, though the 2024 civil unrest damaged businesses and reduced its population.
Facts
Area (sq km) Founding Year Founding Year Population Estimate Year Elevation (m) FAQs
Why did the population of Nouméa fall in the 2025 census?
The 2024 riots drove thousands of residents away; the city proper fell from 94285 to 85976 between the 2019 and 2025 censuses.
Nouméa was greatly affected by the riots of 2024, which destroyed many businesses across the city and its suburbs and pushed thousands of people to leave Greater Nouméa for elsewhere in New Caledonia or for metropolitan France. The April 2025 census counted 85,976 residents in the city proper, down from 94,285 at the 2019 census, and 173,814 in Greater Nouméa, down from 182,341. It was the first population decline for Greater Nouméa since statistical records began.
Sources
1. Nouméa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationArticle text: 2025 census population
85,976 in the city (commune) of Nouméa proper
Infobox: Area
45.7 km2 (17.6 sq mi)
Infobox: Elevation
0-167 m (0-548 ft) (avg. 20 m or 66 ft)
Article text: French settlement founded
the French established a settlement nearby three years later in 1854
Infobox: Coordinates
22.2758°S 166.4580°E
On Continent: Australia
It is the largest Francophone city in Oceania.
In Group: Cities of Oceania (World), Lead paragraph
It is the largest Francophone city in Oceania.
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Nouméa
- Wikidata Q9733, class allow-list match verified against P17/real-world identity (w-geo-qidcite-0926).
- Wikidata Q9733 P571
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