Distillers New Caledonia
A one-page guide to New Caledonia for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Noumea
- Official languages
- French
- Currency
- CFP franc (XPF), pegged to the euro
- Time zone
- UTC+11
- Area
- 18,576 km²
People
- Population
- 295,333 (2025)
- Population growth
- 0.9% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 68.2%
- Aged under 15
- 21.1%
- Aged 65 and over
- 11.8%
- Life expectancy
- 78.9 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$8.5 billion (2024)
- GDP per person
- US$29,213 (2024)
- Economic growth
- -13.5% (2024)
Climate
Tropical. Hot, humid season November to March at 27-30 C; cooler, drier season June to August at 20-23 C; annual mean about 23 C. Tropical depressions and cyclones can occur December to April.
Alcohol
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 8.19 litres of pure alcohol (2022-2024 average (WHO estimate for 2024))
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank indicators (population, area, GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation); WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator SA_0000001688; UN Comtrade public API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: New Caledonia; New Caledonia Tourism - Distillerie du Soleil / Rhum Terre du Sud. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.