 |
 |
|---|
The French sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia is divided into three provinces, which in turn are divided into 33 communes. There is also a system of eight tribal areas for the indigenous Kanak people, and three decentralized subdivisions.
| |
| |
|---|
The French sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia is divided into three provinces, which in turn are divided into 33 communes. There is also a system of eight tribal areas for the indigenous Kanak people, and three decentralized subdivisions.
New Caledonia is divided into three provinces. The North and South Provinces are located on the New Caledonian mainland, while the Loyalty Islands Province is a series of islands off the mainland.
| Province name (name in French) | Capital city | Population (2019) |
|---|---|---|
 Loyalty Islands Province (Province des îles Loyauté) | Lifou | 18,353 |
 North Province (Province Nord) | Koné | 49,910 |
 South Province (Province Sud) | Nouméa | 203,144 |
Each province has its own flag and emblem and has considerable powers, including all powers that are not explicitly the prerogative of either the territorial Congress of New Caledonia in Nouméa or parliament of the French Republic in Paris. The borders and powers of the provinces were outlined in 1988 as part of the Matignon Accords.
The Loyalty Islands Province has its seat at Wé in the commune of Lifou, and the provincial seat of the North Province is at Koné (although physically located closer to the town of Pouembout). The South Province has its provincial seat at Nouméa, although La Foa also serves as the seat of some administrations (see subdivisions section below).
New Caledonia is subdivided into 33 communes (municipalities), which in most cases predate the provinces. One commune, Poya, was divided between the two mainland provinces as part of the Matignon Accords. On the list below, communal seats are shown in parentheses if different from the commune name.
| South Province |
| North Province |
| Loyalty Islands Province |
| part of both provinces |
| provincial capital |
| capital of New Caledonia |
| No. on Map | Commune | Capital | Area (km2) | Population (2019) | Individual Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thio | Thio | 997.6 | 2,524 |  |
| 2 | Yaté | Yaté | 1,338.4 | 1,667 |  |
| 3 | L'Île-des-Pins | Vao | 152.3 | 2,037 |  |
| 4 | Le Mont-Dore | Mont-Dore | 643.0 | 27,620 |  |
| 5 | Nouméa | Nouméa | 45.7 | 94,285 |  |
| 6 | Dumbéa | Dumbéa | 254.6 | 35,873 |  |
| 7 | Païta | Païta | 699.7 | 24,563 |  |
| 8 | Boulouparis | Boulouparis | 865.6 | 3,315 |  |
| 9 | La Foa | La Foa | 464.0 | 3,552 |  |
| 10 | Sarraméa | Sarraméa | 106.4 | 572 |  |
| 11 | Farino | Farino | 48.0 | 712 |  |
| 12 | Moindou | Moindou | 321.9 | 681 |  |
| 13 | Bourail | Bourail | 797.6 | 5,531 |  |
| 14 | Poya | Poya | 845.8 | 2,802 |  |
| 15 | Pouembout | Pouembout | 674.3 | 2,752 |  |
| 16 | Koné | Koné | 373.6 | 8,144 |  |
| 17 | Voh | Voh | 804.9 | 2,856 |  |
| 18 | Kaala-Gomen | Kaala-Gomen | 718.2 | 1,803 |  |
| 19 | Koumac | Koumac | 550.0 | 3,981 |  |
| 20 | Poum | Poum | 469.4 | 1,435 |  |
| 21 | Belep | Waala | 69.5 | 867 |  |
| 22 | Ouégoa | Ouégoa | 656.8 | 2,118 |  |
| 23 | Pouébo | Pouébo | 202.8 | 2,144 |  |
| 24 | Hienghène | Hienghène | 1,068.8 | 2,454 |  |
| 25 | Touho | Touho | 283.0 | 2,380 |  |
| 26 | Poindimié | Poindimié | 673.1 | 5,006 |  |
| 27 | Ponérihouen | Ponérihouen | 707.3 | 2,420 |  |
| 28 | Houaïlou | Houaïlou | 940.6 | 3,955 |  |
| 29 | Kouaoua | Kouaoua | 383.0 | 1,304 |  |
| 30 | Canala | Canala | 438.7 | 3,701 |  |
| 31 | Ouvéa | Fayaoué | 132.1 | 3,401 |  |
| 32 | Lifou | Wé | 1,207.1 | 9,195 |  |
| 33 | Maré | Tadine | 641.7 | 5,757 |  |
In addition, a parallel layer of administration exists for Kanak tribal affairs; these are called aires coutumières ("tribal areas") and are eight in number. Their jurisdiction does not encompass non-Kanaks living within these zones. The tribal areas more or less correspond to the indigenous language areas and/or areas of pre-French tribal alliances.
There are also three subdivisions, simply known as subdivisions in French, with the same names and boundaries as the three provinces, except that the commune of Poya is entirely within the North Subdivision. Unlike the provinces, which are full political divisions with their own assemblies and executives, the subdivisions are merely decentralized divisions of the French central state, akin to the arrondissements of Metropolitan France, with a Deputy Commissioner of the Republic (commissaire délégué de la République), akin to a subprefect of Metropolitan France, in residence in each subdivision's chief town.
The subdivision chief towns are the same as the provincial capitals except in the South Subdivision where the chief town is La Foa, whereas the capital of the South Province is Nouméa. Thus, although the provincial assembly of the South Province sits in Nouméa, the South Subdivision's Deputy Commissioner of the Republic is in residence in La Foa. This was decided in order to counterbalance the overwhelming weight of Nouméa in New Caledonia.
| Provinces | |
|---|---|
| Communes | |
New Caledonia is a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, south of Vanuatu, about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia, and 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from 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. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre "Le Caillou".
New Caledonia is a French sui generis collectivity with a system of government based on parliamentarism and representative democracy. The President of the Government is the head of government, and there is a multi-party system, with Executive power being exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of New Caledonia. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
A territorial collectivity, or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a legal entity governed by public law that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a decentralization process. In France, it also refers to a chartered administrative division of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any territory with an elective form of local government and local regulatory authority. The nature of a French territorial collectivity is set forth in Article 72 of the Constitution of France (1958), which provides for local autonomy within limits prescribed by law.
The Caledonian Union is a pro-independence and the oldest political party in New Caledonia. In the latest legislative elections of May 10, 2009, the party won around 11.65% of the popular vote, and 9 out of 54 seats in the Territorial Congress.
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
The Nouméa Accord of 1998 is a promise by the French Republic to grant increased political power to New Caledonia and its original population, the Kanaks, over a twenty-year transition period. It was signed 5 May 1998 by Lionel Jospin, and approved in a referendum in New Caledonia on 8 November, with 72% voting in favour. Under the accord, two more referendum votes, on whether to remain a special collectivity of France or become an independent state, have been held. One was held in 2018, and the second was held in 2020. In both votes a majority chose to remain French. The Nouméa Accord permitted a final referendum to be held, voted for by the Congress of New Caledonia. It was held December 2021 and widely rejected independence amid boycott by the independence movement.
Caldoche is the name given to inhabitants of the French overseas collectivity of New Caledonia of European ethnic origin who have settled in New Caledonia since the 19th century. The formal name to refer to this particular population is Calédoniens, short for the very formal Néo-Calédoniens, but this self-appellation technically includes all inhabitants of the New Caledonian archipelago, not just the Caldoche.
The South Province is one of three administrative subdivisions in New Caledonia. It corresponds to the southern and southwestern portion of the New Caledonian mainland.
La Foa is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.
Maré Island or Nengone is the second-largest of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of Maré, in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia.
Two flags are in use in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. Up to 2010, the only flag used to represent New Caledonia was the flag of France, a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue, white, and red known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour. However, in July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag of the independence movement FLNKS alongside the French Tricolour. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial. A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the French Tricolour.
Loyalty Islands Province is one of the three top-level administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. It encompasses the Loyalty Islands archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.
A referendum on the Nouméa Accord was held in New Caledonia on 8 November 1998. It was approved by 71.85% of voters. The proportion of voters in favour was highest in the Loyalty Islands and lowest in the South Province.
The Matignon Agreements were agreements signed in the Hôtel Matignon by Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur on 26 June 1988 between loyalists who wanted to keep New Caledonia as a part of the French Republic, and separatists, who did not. The agreements were arranged under the aegis of the Government of France as a result of discussions and compromises arranged by Christian Blanc, the negotiator for Michel Rocard's government.
The Kanaks are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific. According to the 2019 census, the Kanaks make up 41.2% of New Caledonia's total population — corresponding to around 112,000 people.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 November 2018. Voters were given the choice of remaining part of France or becoming an independent country.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 October 2020. The poll was the second to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following a similar referendum in 2018.
The penal colony of New Caledonia was a penitentiary establishment which was in operation from 1864 to 1924. Many French prisoners from mainland France were deported there.
