Administrative divisions of New Caledonia

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.

Provinces[edit]

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.

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).

Communes[edit]

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.

Administrative divisions of New Caledonia:   North Province   South Province   Loyalty Islands Province. The numbers correspond to the list of communes to the left.

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

Other types of divisions[edit]

The hierarchy of New Caledonia’s administrative subdivisions, shown in a triangle.

Tribal areas (aires coutumières)[edit]

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.

Subdivisions[edit]

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.

See also[edit]