Photo: Fourrure derivative work: Inkey · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
New Caledonia places highest on Cereal Yield (top 3% worldwide) and lowest on CO₂ Emissions per Capita (bottom 3%).
Share
New Caledonia in the Nations Inquiry Country Index
New Caledonia appears in 101 of the statistics tracked here, but is not placed in the Country Index: the index needs a standing on three quarters of its topics, and New Caledonia is measured on too few of them. Every published reading below is unaffected.
At a glance
Population
289,870
people
since 1950
Land area
18,576
km²
since 1961
Life expectancy
78.77
years at birth
since 1950
Unemployment
11.17
% of the labour force
since 1991
The newest published figure for each, the year it describes and who published it, with a line showing how it has moved.
01The country
About New Caledonia
New Caledonia, a French territory in the south-west Pacific, has its own congress and government with wide powers under a special status. Grande Terre, the long main island, is ridged by mountains rising to Mont Panié, with a wet east coast and a drier west of niaouli savanna. A great barrier reef encloses its lagoon, and the Loyalty Islands lie offshore. The forests shelter the flightless kagu and Amborella, a shrub on the oldest surviving branch of the flowering plants.
Austronesian voyagers arrived roughly three millennia ago, and Lapita, the name given to their pottery, comes from a site on Grande Terre. James Cook sighted the island in 1774 and gave it the Latin name for Scotland. France annexed it in 1853; in 1864 the first convicts landed and Jules Garnier found nickel. Exiled Paris Communards, Louise Michel among them, followed, and the mines drew workers from Java, Vietnam and Japan. American forces made it a major Allied base from 1942.
Kanak chiefdoms offer the first yams of each harvest to the chief, whose great house bears a carved spire. Bougna, yams, taro and chicken or fish wrapped in banana leaves and baked on hot stones, is the feast dish. Women play a local cricket in long mission dresses, and Christian Karembeu, from Lifou, won the football World Cup with France in 1998. Nickel, mined across Grande Terre and smelted at Doniambo, drives the economy, with farmed prawns, tuna and tourism behind it.
Key facts about New Caledonia
- Capital
- Nouméa
- Official language
- French
- Currency
- CFP Franc (XPF)
- ISO code
- NCL · NC
- Domain · dialling
- .nc · +687
As Wikidata records them. Official languages are the least consistent — some countries list only a national language, others every regional one. Sources and licences.
02Country Index 2026
Where it stands, topic by topic
Strongest first. Each position is New Caledonia’s place among the countries with a standing on that topic, built from a few key statistics chosen to measure different things.
joint108thof 177
From 2 of 4 key statistics
101stof 165
From 2 of 3 key statistics
115thof 182
From 4 of 4 key statistics
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
No standing — New Caledonia holds too few of this subject’s key statistics to be placed on it.
Each standing is built from a few key statistics chosen to measure different things. Select a subject for New Caledonia’s readings on it, or see every statistic held for New Caledonia in the table further down this page.
03Highs and lows
Where New Caledonia stands out
The two ends of its own record: every statistic on which New Caledonia sits within ten places of the best or worst in the world, plus its strongest and weakest readings overall. Each is turned into a percentile — its place among every country measured — which is what lets a hunger score and a press-freedom rank be compared at all.
Where New Caledonia does best5
In the top third of all countries measured. 1 is within ten places of the best in the world, in a field of at least 50 countries — marked with that place.
- 7thCereal Yieldtop 3%
Position · derived 7th of 179 · 9,790 · 2023
world median 3,072 (better) · ▲ 28 pts since 2013
Position · derived 206th of 220 · 1 = worst · 4.2 · 2023
world median 14.45 (better)
Position · derived 27th of 182 · 65.36 · 2025
world median 22.16 (better) · ▼ 5 pts since 2015
Not ranked by the publisher · 98.6 · 2024
world median 23.75 (better)
Where New Caledonia struggles most5
In the bottom third of all countries measured. 1 is within ten places of the worst in the world, in a field of at least 50 countries — marked with that place.
- 8thCO₂ Emissions per Capitabottom 3%
Position · derived 8th of 210 · 1 = worst · 18.07 · 2024
world median 3.21 (worse)
- Coal Share of Electricity Generationbottom 7%
Not ranked by the publisher · 36.54 · 2024
world median 0 (worse) · ▼ 7 pts since 2014
- Youth Unemployment Ratebottom 8%
Position · derived 15th of 182 · 1 = worst · 33.11 · 2025
world median 12.83 (worse)
- Unemployment Ratebottom 16%
Position · derived 30th of 182 · 1 = worst · 11.17 · 2025
world median 5.084 (worse)
- Food Production Indexbottom 16%
Position · derived 163rd of 195 · 94.76 · 2022
world median 106.08 (worse) · ▼ 18 pts since 2012
A band is a place among the countries each publisher scores, so New Caledonia can move because other countries moved. See the Country Index for the full method.
04In context
New Caledonia and its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place in the world ranking, not within the region.
Shares a land border with
New Caledonia has no land border with another country.
Across Melanesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its position in the world.
- 64
Fiji - =107
Vanuatu - 124
Solomon Islands - 144
Papua New Guinea - —
New Caledonianot placed
05The evidence
Every statistic we hold for New Caledonia
Grouped by topic. Each row gives the newest edition’s rank or position, the published value and the year the numbers describe. Select a statistic for this country’s row beside every other country, the world median and every edition.
Governance & Institutions7
- Child and Family Benefit CoverageILO · Children or households with children receiving child or family cash benefits (%)top 17%98.62024
- Control of CorruptionWorld Bank Group · Control of Corruption (−2.5 to 2.5)87th of 211position · derived0.1372025
- Disability Benefit CoverageILO · People with severe disabilities receiving disability benefits (%)top 41%59.92025
- Old-Age Pension CoverageILO · People above statutory pensionable age receiving an old-age pension (%)top 32%98.82025
- Rule of LawWorld Bank Group · Rule of Law estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)88th of 211position · derived0.2572025
- Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · Voice and Accountability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)98th of 206position · derived0.0692025
Economy & Innovation10
- Crop Production IndexFAO · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100)154th of 195position · derived94.332022
- Export Concentration IndexUNCTAD · Export concentration index (0–1, normalised Herfindahl–Hirschman)top 10%0.6312025
- Food Production IndexFAO · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100)163rd of 195position · derived94.762022
- Foreign Direct Investment InflowsUNCTAD · FDI inflows (% of GDP)top 20%4.8352025
- Liner Shipping Connectivity IndexUNCTAD · LSCI (index, average Q1 2023 = 100)95th of 175rank44.052026
- Livestock Production IndexFAO · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100)159th of 194position · derived94.962022
- Merchant Fleet by Country of OwnershipUNCTAD · Merchant fleet owned (thousand dead-weight tons)bottom 15%3.4132026
- Scholarly ArticlesOurResearch · Articles with at least one author at an institution in the country (full counting)bottom 26%2502025
- Terms of Trade IndexUNCTAD · Terms of trade index (2015 = 100)bottom 45%100.992025
- Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · Natural resources rents (% of GDP)31st of 180position · derived16.792021
Work & Labour15
- Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person131st of 182position · derived35.332025
- Employment in AgricultureILO · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment)158th of 182position · derived1.7822025
- Employment in IndustryILO · Employment in industry (% of total employment)72nd of 182position · derived20.652025
- Employment in ServicesILO · Employment in services (% of total employment)32nd of 182position · derived77.572025
- Employment Injury Protection CoverageILO · Labour force covered in the event of a work injury (%)top 35%67.72024
- Employment-to-Population RatioILO · Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)139th of 182position · derived50.122025
- Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%)112th of 182position · derived51.072025
- Labour Force Participation RateILO · Population aged 15+ in the labour force (%)130th of 182position · derived56.422025
- Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · Output per hour worked (constant 2021 international $ at PPP)27th of 182position · derived65.362025
- Self-Employment RateILO · Self-employed (% of total employment)130th of 182position · derived17.142025
- Unemployment Benefit CoverageILO · Unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits (%)top 29%14.62024
- Unemployment RateILO · Unemployment (% of labour force)30th of 182position · derived · 1 = worst11.172025
- Vulnerable EmploymentILO · Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)129th of 182position · derived · 1 = worst14.162025
- Youth Unemployment RateILO · Unemployment, ages 15-24 (% of youth labour force)15th of 182position · derived · 1 = worst33.112025
Education & Knowledge2
- Adult Literacy RateUIS · Adults 15+ who can read and write (%)69th of 172position · derived96.142024
- Youth Literacy RateUIS · 15–24 year-olds who can read and write (%)top 35%99.092024
Health & Wellbeing8
- Adolescent Birth Rate (Ages 15–19)UN DESA Population Division · Live births per 1,000 women aged 15–19154th of 222position · derived · 1 = worst12.162023
- Adult Mortality (Probability of Dying Between 15 and 60)UN DESA Population Division · Deaths before age 60 per 1,000 people alive at 15, at that year's death rates150th of 222position · derived · 1 = worst92.522023
- Days Above 35°CECMWF · Days a year with a maximum temperature above 35°C, averaged over the country’s landtop 16%02025
- Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 PandemicAriel Karlinsky and Dmitry Kobak (World Mortality Dataset) · Excess deaths per 100,000 people, March 2020 to the end of each country's data (at most December 2023)top 32%183.62026
- Life Expectancy at Age 65UN DESA Population Division · Further years a 65-year-old would live at current death rates52nd of 222position · derived19.142023
- Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · Years a newborn would live at current death rates60th of 222position · derived78.772023
- PM2.5 Air Pollution ExposureAtmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis · Population-weighted PM2.5 concentration (µg/m³)206th of 220position · derived · 1 = worst4.22023
- Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · Population undernourished (%)87th of 104position · derived · 1 = worst4.92023
Development & Human Capital3
- Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · Population with electricity access (%)top 28%1002024
- Access to Electricity, RuralWorld Bank Group · Rural population with electricity access (%)top 29%1002024
- Cereal YieldFAO · Cereal yield (kg per hectare)7th of 179position · derived9,7902023
Environment & Sustainability23
- Agricultural LandFAO · Agricultural land (% of land area)177th of 209position · derived10.072023
- Arable Land per PersonFAO · Arable land (hectares per person)172nd of 206position · derived0.0212023
- Burned AreaGWIS · Burned area (hectares)bottom 32%665.442025
- Carbon Intensity of ElectricityEmber · Carbon intensity (gCO₂e per kWh generated)51st of 165position · derived · 1 = worst564.12024
- CO₂ Emissions per CapitaGlobal Carbon Project · Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)8th of 210position · derived · 1 = worst18.072024
- Coal Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Coal (% of electricity generated)bottom 7%36.542024
- Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land)26th of 188position · derived248.912023
- Fisheries and Aquaculture ProductionFAO · Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals caught or farmed, tonnes (live weight)bottom 23%5,3142024
- Forest AreaFAO · Forest area (% of land area)60th of 210position · derived45.832023
- Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · Land under cereal production (hectares)168th of 179position · derived2982023
- Low-Carbon Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Low-carbon sources (% of electricity generated)97th of 162position · derived26.922024
- Mangrove AreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, JAXA, soloEO, Wetlands International, The Nature Conservancy) · Mangrove forest area (hectares)top 36%29,6272025
- Methane EmissionsEDGAR · Methane emissions (gigagrams of CH₄)bottom 18%7.5682025
- Municipal Solid Waste GenerationWorld Bank Group · Municipal solid waste generated (kg per person per day)86th of 201position · derived · 1 = worst1.072026
- Operating Coal Power CapacityGlobal Energy Monitor · Coal-fired capacity in operation (megawatts)bottom 46%3702026
- Operating Wind Power CapacityGlobal Energy Monitor · Wind farm capacity in operation (megawatts)bottom 40%31.52026
- Population Living Below 5 m ElevationCenter for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University · Population living below 5 m elevation (% of total population)top 18%10.872015
- Renewable Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Renewables (% of electricity generated)93rd of 162position · derived26.922024
- Solar Electricity Installed CapacityEIA · Solar generating capacity installed (gigawatts)top 45%0.2152024
- Solar Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Solar (% of electricity generated)top 29%8.3332024
- Tree Cover LossWorld Resources Institute — Global Forest Watch (data: University of Maryland) · Tree cover loss (hectares, where canopy cover exceeded 30% in 2000)bottom 44%1,7972025
- Tropical Moist Forest DeforestationJRC · Tropical moist forest deforested in the year (million hectares)bottom 42%02025
- Wind and Solar Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Wind and solar (% of electricity generated)top 38%9.6152024
Gender & Equality2
- Mean Age at First Marriage, WomenUN DESA Population Division · Singulate mean age at marriage, women (years)top 2%32.82019
- Sex Ratio at BirthUN DESA Population Division · Male births per 100 female birthstop 31%105.92023
Peace & Security1
- Political Stability and Absence of ViolenceWorld Bank Group · Political Stability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)95th of 211position · derived0.2922025
Mobility & Trade5
- Container Import Dwell TimeWorld Bank Group · Median days a full import container waits in port57th of 156position · derived · 1 = worst5.32024
- EmigrantsUN DESA Population Division · Migrants from the country living abroad, mid-year (people)bottom 12%5,0822024
- International MigrantsUN DESA Population Division · International migrants living in the country, mid-year (people)bottom 34%76,7382024
- Net Migration RateUN DESA Population Division · Net migrants per 1,000 populationtop 30%1.6732023
Energy8
- Crude Oil ProductionEIA · Crude oil produced (thousand barrels per day)bottom 26%02025
- Gas Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Natural gas (% of electricity generated)bottom 22%02024
- Hydro Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Hydropower (% of electricity generated)top 46%17.312024
- Natural Gas ProductionEIA · Dry natural gas produced (billion cubic metres)bottom 27%02024
- Net Electricity Imports (share of generation)Ember · Net electricity imports (% of domestic generation)bottom 42%02024
- Nuclear Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · Nuclear (% of electricity generated)bottom 45%02024
- Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT)World Bank Group (ESMAP), data by Solargis · Practical solar power potential (kWh per kWp per day, long-term average)bottom 33%3.9762020
- Primary Energy ProductionEIA · Primary energy produced (quadrillion Btu)bottom 26%0.0032024
Digital & Technology3
- GitHub DevelopersGitHub · Developer accounts located in the economy (as of quarter end)bottom 20%5,3282026
- GitHub Git PushesGitHub · Git pushes during the quarterbottom 11%7,1012025
- GitHub RepositoriesGitHub · Public repositories located in the economy (as of quarter end)bottom 22%8,7292026
People & Population14
- Crude Birth RateUN DESA Population Division · Births per 1,000 populationtop 48%14.262023
- Crude Death RateUN DESA Population Division · Deaths per 1,000 populationbottom 30%6.2712023
- Mean Age at ChildbearingUN DESA Population Division · Mean age of mothers at the birth of their children (years)top 23%30.492023
- Median Age of the PopulationUN DESA Population Division · Median age (years)top 43%33.892023
- One-Person HouseholdsUN DESA Population Division · Households with exactly one member (% of households)top 43%17.452026
- Population Aged 65 and OverUN DESA Population Division · Share of the total population aged 65 and over (%)top 41%11.092023
- Population DensityUN DESA Population Division · People per square kilometre of landbottom 9%15.862023
- Population Growth RateUN DESA Population Division · Population growth (% per year)top 48%0.9662023
- Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation)UN DESA Population Division · Share of the population living in cities as the Degree of Urbanisation defines them (%)top 42%42.012025
- Population Under Age 15UN DESA Population Division · Share of the total population aged 0–14 (%)bottom 47%21.532023
- Sex Ratio of the Total PopulationUN DESA Population Division · Males per 100 femalesbottom 37%97.312023
- Total Dependency RatioUN DESA Population Division · People aged 0–14 and 65+ per 100 people aged 15–64bottom 25%48.42023
- Total Fertility RateUN DESA Population Division · Live births per womantop 48%1.982023
06Method
Sources and how to read them
How to read this page
- The scores and ranks belong to their publishers. Nothing is adjusted, rescaled or re-ranked; each is reproduced from the edition named beside it. Where a row says position · derived, the publisher ranks nobody on that measure and the position is ours, made by ordering the published score.
- Each statistic shows its newest edition, which is not always the edition the Country Index uses: the index pins every source to one data year so its average compares like with like.
How a standing is built from percentiles, why New Caledonia can move because other countries moved, and why publishers measure between 120 and 215 countries each are set out in full in how a standing is made and what a standing cannot tell you.
Sources
- Statistics: 22 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
- Capital, languages, currency, codes: Wikidata, public domain (CC0).
- Map and land borders: Natural Earth, public domain. Borders are de facto — where administration actually changes — not claimed.
Photographs
The photograph of New Caledonia on this page comes from Wikimedia Commons and is shown in greyscale. The photographer and the licence are named beside each one.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). New Caledonia: country statistics, rankings and trends. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/new-caledonia