Demographics of New Caledonia



Demographic features of the population of New Caledonia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Vital statistics
Births and deaths

ISEE - Démographie

Ethnic groups
Ethnic Melanesians known as Kanak constituted 41.2% of the population in 2019, followed by Europeans (Caldoche and Zoreille) with 24.1%. The Europeans are the largest ethnic group in the South Province, where they make up a plurality, while Kanak are the majority in the two other provinces. The remainder of the population are Wallis and Futunan (8.3%), Tahitian (2.0%), Indonesians (1.4%), Ni-Vanuatu (0.9%), Vietnamese, other Asian (0.4%), Mixed (11.3%), and belong to other ethnic groups (9.5%). An estimate of 15,000 Caledonians were of Algerian descent.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Age structure

 * 0–14 years: 21.74% (male 32,227/female 30,819)
 * 15–24 years: 15.63% (male 23,164/female 22,163)
 * 25–54 years: 43.73% (male 63,968/female 62,856)
 * 55–64 years: 9.06% (male 12,700/female 13,568)
 * 65 years and over: 9.84% (male 12,552/female 15,992)

Population

 * 297,160

Population growth rate

 * 1.19%

Birth rate

 * 14.13 births/1,000 population

Death rate

 * 5.88 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate

 * 3.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio

 * At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * 0–14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
 * 15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
 * 25–54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
 * 55–64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
 * 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
 * Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Infant mortality rate

 * Total: 5 deaths/1,000 live births
 * Male: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births
 * Female: 3.98 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

 * Total population: 78.83 years
 * Male: 74.93 years
 * Female: 82.92 years

Total fertility rate

 * 1.86 children born/woman

Nationality

 * noun: New Caledonian(s)
 * adjective: New Caledonian

Religions

 * Roman Catholic 60%
 * Protestant 30%
 * Other 10%

Ethnic groups

 * Kanak 39.1%
 * European 27.1%
 * Wallisian and Futunian 8.2%
 * Tahitian 2.1%
 * Indonesian 1.4%
 * Ni-Vanuatu 1%
 * Vietnamese 0.9%
 * Other 17.7%
 * Unspecified 2.5%

Languages

 * French (official)
 * 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Literacy

 * Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * Total population: 96.9%
 * Male: 97.3%
 * Female: 96.5%