French Polynesia vs New Caledonia

French Polynesia and New Caledonia compared on 9 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• French Polynesia and New Caledonia have about the same number of people: 282,465 and 295,333 in 2025.
• GDP per person in New Caledonia ($29,213) is 30% higher than in French Polynesia ($22,440) in 2024.
• The economy grew faster in French Polynesia (1.1%) than in New Caledonia (-13.5%), a difference of 14.6 percentage points in 2024.
• The unemployment rate was higher in French Polynesia (11.7%) than in New Caledonia (11.2%), a difference of 0.5 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in French Polynesia can expect to live 5.3 years longer than one born in New Caledonia: 84.2 years against 78.9 years in 2024.
• The population of French Polynesia is older: half of its people are over 34.8 years, against 33.9 years in New Caledonia in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in New Caledonia (82%) than in French Polynesia (72.7%), a difference of 9.3 percentage points in 2017.
• CO2 emissions per person in New Caledonia (17.1 tonnes) are about 4.9 times as high as in French Polynesia (3.5 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in New Caledonia (48.1%) than in French Polynesia (42.4%), a difference of 5.7 percentage points in 2024.