Demographic profile
New Caledonia is the 184th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.0% of everyone alive. Within Melanesia, it ranks 5 of 5.
Each day brings roughly 22 births and 6 deaths, adding about 5,843 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 1.75% annually, the population would double in roughly 40 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is South Province, holding an estimated 51.3% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 3 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 72.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 30.0%, with life expectancy at about 72.8 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of New Caledonia in 2026? Approximately 327,195 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is New Caledonia growing? About 1.75% per year — roughly 22 births and 6 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in New Caledonia? Around 0.0% — ranked 184 worldwide by population.