thumb|upright|Nouméa city flag, 2011

thumb|377x377px|Small scale map of the city

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 (Wallisians, Futunians, Tahitians), Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and indigenous 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.

Nouméa was greatly affected by the 2024 New Caledonia riots, which destroyed many businesses throughout the city and its suburbs, and pushed thousands of people to leave the Greater Nouméa area and move either to the rest of New Caledonia or to Metropolitan France. As a result, the April 2025 census recorded a marked population decline for Nouméa, with only 173,814 inhabitants living in the metropolitan area of Greater Nouméa (), down from 182,341 at the 2019 census, and 85,976 in the city (commune) of Nouméa proper, down from 94,285 at the 2019 census. The unrest caused damage to the city, along with a major decline in tourism and an exodus of recently arrived residents (Metropolitan Frenchmen who returned to Metropolitan France as well as Kanaks and other ethnic groups who returned to their communes of origin in the rest of New Caledonia).

Geography

The city is situated on an irregular, hilly peninsula near the southeast end of New Caledonia, which is in the south-west Pacific Ocean.

Neighbourhoods of Nouméa include:

  • Rivière-Salée
  • 6e km, 7e km, Normandie, and Tina
  • Ducos peninsula:
  • Ducos, Ducos industriel, Kaméré, Koumourou, Logicoop, Numbo, Tindu
  • 4e Km, Aérodrome, Haut Magenta, Magenta, Ouémo, and Portes de fer
  • Faubourg Blanchot and Vallée des Colons
  • Doniambo, Montagne coupée, Montravel, and Vallée du tir
  • Artillerie Nord, Centre Ville, Nouville, Quartier Latin, Vallée du Génie
  • Anse Vata (Drubea: Ouata), Artillerie Sud, Baie des Citrons, Motor Pool, N'géa, Orphelinat, Receiving, Trianon, and Val Plaisance

Climate

Nouméa features a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw) with hot summers and warm winters. Temperatures are warmer in the months of January, February and March with average highs hovering around 30 degrees Celsius and cooler during the months of July and August where average high temperatures are around 23 degrees Celsius. The capital's dry season months are September and October. The rest of the year is noticeably wetter. Nouméa on average receives roughly of precipitation annually.

Demographics

thumb|250px|A woman at a market in Nouméa, 2006

The Greater Nouméa metropolitan area () had a total population of 173,814 inhabitants at the April 2025 census, 85,976 of whom lived in the commune of Nouméa proper. and ISEE

  • 70.9% were born in New Caledonia (up from 66.7% at the 2014 census)
  • 18.4% in Metropolitan France or its overseas departments and territories (outside of the Pacific) (down from 21.2% at the 2014 census)
  • 5.6% in foreign countries (notably Indonesia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Algeria) (down from 6.3% at the 2014 census)
  • 5.1% in France's other Pacific territories, primarily Wallis and Futuna and to a lesser degree French Polynesia (down from 5.8% at the 2014 census)

Ethnic communities

The self-reported ethnic communities of the 182,341 residents in the Greater Nouméa metropolitan area at the 2019 census were as follows:

  • 30.65% Europeans
  • 26.36% Kanaks (original Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia)
  • 11.66% Wallisians and Futunians
  • 12.59% mixed ethnicity
  • 18.75% other communities (this group includes in particular the White people of New Caledonia who refused to self-identify as "Europeans")

Languages

At the 2009 census, 98.7% of the population in the Greater Nouméa metropolitan area whose age was 15 years and older reported that they could speak French. 97.1% reported that they could also read and write it. Only 1.3% of the population whose age was 15 years and older had no knowledge of French.

At the 2019 census, 23.4% of the population of the metropolitan area 15 years and older reported that they could speak at least one of the Kanak languages (up from 20.8% at the 2009 census). 6.1% reported that they could understand a Kanak language but not speak it (up from 4.3% at the 2009 census). 70.5% of the population whose age was 15 years and older had no knowledge of any Kanak language (down from 74.9% at the 2009 census).

Due to the tourism industry (with the bulk of tourists coming from Australia and New Zealand), English is widely spoken as a second or third language in Nouméa. Japanese is also known (albeit to a much lesser extent) due to tourism from Japan.

Economy

Although it is not currently a major tourist destination, Nouméa has experienced a construction boom in the 21st century. The installation of amenities has kept pace and the municipality boasts a public works programme. The mayor of Noumea is Sonia Lagarde; in 2020 her re-election was opposed by the former leader of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME), Cherifa Linossier, whose unsuccessful campaign was based on local economic revitalisation.

Transport

Aircalin, the international airline of New Caledonia, and Air Calédonie (Aircal), the domestic airline, have their headquarters in the city. Aircal's headquarters are on the grounds of Nouméa Magenta Airport,

which serves local routes. Nouméa's international airport is La Tontouta International Airport, from the city.

The Nouméa-Païta railway, which was the only railway line that ever existed in New Caledonia, was closed in 1940.

Education

thumb|250px|[[University of New Caledonia, Nouville campus, 2011]]

thumb|250px|Bernheim Library exterior, 2011

thumb|250px|Bernheim Library interior, 2011

The University of New Caledonia (UNC) dates to 1987 when the Université française du Pacifique (French University of the Pacific) was created, with two centres, one in French Polynesia and the other in New Caledonia. In 1997 the decision was made to split the two parts into separate universities and so in 1999 the Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie and the Université de la Polynésie française were formed.

UNC welcomes around 3,000 local and international students and 100 professors and researchers each year.

The Bibliothèque Bernheim (Bernheim Library) is located in Nouméa.

The city is home to several museums, including the Maritime Museum of New Caledonia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Nouméa is twinned with:

  • Gold Coast, Australia
  • Nice, France
  • Papeete, French Polynesia
  • Taupō, New Zealand

Notable people

  • Marianne Devaux – politician
  • Ilaïsaane Lauouvéa – politician
  • Gilles Pisier – mathematician
  • Peato Mauvaka – rugby union player
  • Maxime Grousset – Olympic swimmer

References

  • Official Site for New Caledonia Tourism
  • Nouméa: Commune Française du Bout du Monde – a school project on the geography and history of Nouméa