Commune of Nouméa
Renzo Piano's Tjibaou Cultural Center to the north of Nouméa's city center
Location
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Administration
Country	France
Sui generis collectivity	New Caledonia (capital city)
Province	South Province (provincial seat)
Mayor	Jean Lèques (1986-present)
Statistics
Elevation	0 m–167 m (avg. Renzo Piano (born September 14 1937) is a world renowned Italian Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. |||} Metropolitan France As of January 1, 2008, Metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including Corsica, although For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. New Caledonia is divided into three Provinces: South Province ( province Sud = the southern mainland The South Province ( French province Sud) is one of three administrative subdivisions in New Caledonia. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 20 m)
Land area¹	45. 7 km²
Population² (2004 census)	91,386
- Density	1,999/km² (2004 census)
- Ethnic distribution   (1996 census)	Europeans 50. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 9% Kanaks 22. Kanak (formerly also Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific. 9% Polynesians 12. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 3% Other 13. 9%
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	98818/ 98800
1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0. The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE to identify various entities including communes Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. 386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. 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 population, as well as many Melanesian Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks that work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands ( French: Wallis et Futuna or Territoire des îles Wallis et Futuna, Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands ( French: Wallis et Futuna or Territoire des îles Wallis et Futuna, Tahiti is the largest Island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the Archipelago of Society Islands in the The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese people (người Việt or vi ''người Kinh'' are an Ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern China. Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) means "islands of the black-skinned people" The population of Vanuatu is 985% indigenous Melanesian About 30000 live in the capital Port Vila. Kanak (formerly also Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific. is a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a Pre-industrial society into an industrial one The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour which serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.

The population of the city (commune) at the Aug. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. /Sept. 2004 census was 91,386 inhabitants (up from 76,293 inhabitants at the 1996 census). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Including the suburbs of Nouméa, the population of the Greater Nouméa metropolitan area (French: agglomération du Grand Nouméa) at the 2004 census was 146,245 inhabitants (up from 118,823 inhabitants in 1996, meaning a booming 2. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people 5% population increase per year). 63. 4% of the population of New Caledonia live in Greater Nouméa, which covers the communes of Nouméa, Le Mont-Dore, Dumbéa and Païta. Le Mont-Dore is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France Dumbéa is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Païta is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the

History

Coat of arms of the city of Nouméa

The area in which the city is found was not an important one for Kanaks prior to European settlement; the first European to set up a settlement nearby was a British trader, James Paddon, in 1851. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year The French, anxious to assert control of the island, established a settlement there three years later in 1854, originally named Port-de-France, (moving from the settlement of Balade in the north of the island). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year The area served first as a penal colony, later as a centre for the exploitation of the nickel and gold that was mined nearby. A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 It served as the headquarters of the United States military in the Pacific during World War II. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

The U. S. military headquarters - a pentagonal complex - was, after the war, taken over as the base for a new regional intergovernmental development organisation: the South Pacific Commission. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, as it was later known, has become a "mini-United Nations of the South Pacific" in the words of the former President of Vanuatu, Ati George Sokomanu, with the additional distinction of allowing island territories equal status and voting rights with independent countries in its governing council. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC (sometimes Pacific Community) is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island Ati George Sokomanu (born January 13 1937) (original name George Kalkoa) is a Ni-Vanuatu politician who served as the first president of the

Even today the U. S. wartime military influence lingers, both in the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers, and also in the names of several of the quartiers in Nouméa. Districts such as "Receiving" and "Robinson", or even "Motor Pool", strike the anglophone ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear. An Anglophone (or anglophone) is someone who speaks the English language.

Geography

Orbital photo of Nouméa and suburbs, taken from the International Space Station. Courtesy of NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program

Tourism

Woman at Noumea market

Nouméa, the city, is the most "westernised" in the Pacific Islands region, with the exception of Hagåtña, Guam, and is a complete contrast to the rest of New Caledonia's wide open spaces, bare jagged hills, and largely Kanak population (although there also exist important concentrations of Europeans on the northwestern coast of New Caledonia's mainland, particularly around Bourail, Pouembout, and Koumac). Hagåtña (həˈɡɑtɲə formerly Agana and in Spanish Agaña, is the Capital of the American island territory of Guam. Guam ( Chamorro: cha Guåhån) officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Pouembout is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Koumac is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Although Nouméa probably has the "best" climate in the South Pacific, with more sunshine days than any other Pacific Island capital, and some excellent beaches not far from the city centre, it is not currently a major tourist destination. The cost of living is high, and there is no cheap air-travel from the Pacific Rim. The Pacific Rim refers to the countries and cities located around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Nouméa's international airport is at Tontouta, the La Tontouta International Airport, 50 kilometres from the city, although there is an airport within the city, Magenta, which services local routes. La Tontouta International Airport or Nouméa - La Tontouta International Airport (Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta is the main international airport on New Caledonia

Nouméa is, as of 2007, one of the most rapidly-growing cities in the Pacific, and has experienced a major housing construction boom within the past decade. The installation of amenities has kept pace, and the municipality boasts a public works programme. Much of this construction is apparently fuelled by investment from France. It is the hope of the government that this investment, over the lifetime of the multi-decadal track towards increasing autonomy planned under the Matignon Agreements and now the Nouméa Accord, will eventually become fully sustainable. The Nouméa Accord of 1998 promises to grant political power to New Caledonia and its original population the Kanaks until full independence is achieved (Amongst the Francophone development intelligentsia there is some criticism of the way in which the British withdrew so rapidly from their colonies in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, without first ensuring the sustainability of the new nations)

Noumea looking north showing new housing, 2006

External links

• Tourism New Caledonia (South)
• Nouméa's official municipal website (in French)
• Nouméa: Commune Française du Bout du Monde - an exceptionally well-realised school project on the geography and history of Nouméa (in French)