1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.
Nouméa was greatly affected by the2024 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 toMetropolitan 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 (French:agglomération du Grand 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.[3] This is the first time since the start of statistical records that Greater Nouméa, which covers the communes of Nouméa,Le Mont-Dore,Dumbéa andPaïta, has experienced a population decline.
At the 2025 census, 65.7% of the population of New Caledonia lived in Greater Nouméa, down from 67.2% at the 2019 census.
The first European to establish a settlement in the vicinity was British traderJames Paddon in 1851. Eager to assert control of the island, the French established a settlement nearby three years later in 1854, moving fromBalade in the north of the island[citation needed]. This settlement was initially called Port-de-France and was renamed Nouméa in 1866. The area served first as apenal colony, later as a centre for the exportation of the nickel and gold that was mined nearby.
From 1904 to 1940, Nouméa was linked toDumbéa andPaïta by theNouméa-Païta railway, the only railway line that ever existed in New Caledonia.
During World War II, theUnited States Navy builtNaval Base Noumea and Nouméa served as the headquarters of the United States military in the South Pacific. The five-sided U.S. military headquarters complex was adopted after the war as the base for a new regional intergovernmental development organisation: the South Pacific Commission, later known as theSecretariat of the Pacific Community, and later still as the Pacific Community.
The city maintains much of New Caledonia's unique mix of French and old Melanesian culture. Even today the United States wartime military influence lingers, both with the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers[citation needed] and also with the names of several of the quarters in Nouméa. Districts such as "Receiving" and "Robinson", or even "Motor Pool", strike theanglophone ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear.
In May 2024,protests and riots emerged in Nouméa and New Caledonia at large, due to concerns over an electoral bill that was seen as a threat towards potential independence.[4] 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 theircommunes of origin in the rest of New Caledonia).[5][6]
Nouméa features atropical 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'sdry season months are September and October. The rest of the year is noticeably wetter. Nouméa on average receives roughly 1,100 mm (43 in) of precipitation annually.
Climate data for Nouméa (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1950–present)
The Greater Nouméa metropolitan area (French:agglomération du Grand Nouméa) had a total population of 173,814 inhabitants at the April 2025 census, 85,976 of whom lived in thecommune of Nouméa proper.[3]
The Greater Nouméa metropolitan area is made up of four communes:
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 speakFrench. 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.[17]
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 theKanak 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).[18][19]
Due to the tourism industry (with the bulk of tourists coming fromAustralia andNew 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 fromJapan.[20]
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.[citation needed] The mayor of Noumea isSonia 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.[21][22][23]
University of New Caledonia, Nouville campus, 2011Bernheim Library exterior, 2011Bernheim Library interior, 2011
TheUniversity 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.[27]
TheBibliothèque Bernheim (Bernheim Library) is located in Nouméa.[28]
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