Population: 201,816 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 31,396; female 30,160)
15-64 years: 64% (male 65,042; female 63,961)
65 years and over: 5% (male 5,324; female 5,933) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.52% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 20.84 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.77 years
male: 69.84 years
female: 75.85 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.52 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian

Ethnic groups: Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%

Languages: French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91%
male: 92%
female: 90% (1976 est.)