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New Caledonia

New Caledonia
Nouvelle-Calédonie
Flag of FrancePro-Independence Flag of New Caledonia
Motto: "Terre de parole, terre de partage"
"Land of speech, land of sharing"
Location of New Caledonia
Status Special collectivity
Capital
and largest city
Nouméa
22°16′S 166°28′E / 22.267°S 166.467°E / -22.267; 166.467
Official languages French
Recognised regional languages and 35 other native languages
Demonym New Caledonian
Sovereign state  French Republic
Government Dependent territory
François Hollande
Philippe Germain
Thierry Lataste
Legislature Territorial Congress
Special collectivity of France
• Annexed by France
1853
1946
1999
Area
• Total
18,576 km2 (7,172 sq mi) (154th)
• Land
18,275 km2 (7,056 sq mi)
Population
• Aug. 2014 census
268,767
• Density
14.5/km2 (37.6/sq mi) (200th)
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
• Total
US$9.89 billion
• Per capita
US$38,921
Currency CFP franc (XPF)
Time zone UTC+11
Drives on the right
Calling code +687
ISO 3166 code NC
Internet TLD .nc

Coordinates: 21°15′S 165°18′E / 21.25°S 165.30°E / -21.25; 165.30

New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia and 16,136 km (10,026 mi) east of Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as Le Caillou ("the pebble").

New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 km2 (7,172 sq mi). Its population of 268,767 (Aug. 2014 census) consists of a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New Caledonia), people of European descent (Caldoches and Metropolitan French), Polynesian people (mostly Wallisians), and Southeast Asian people, as well as a few people of Pied-Noir and Maghreban descent. The capital of the territory is Nouméa.


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