Fiji vs New Caledonia
New Caledonia and Fiji are almost exactly the same size.
FijiNew CaledoniaFiji moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.98×
Fiji is 0.98× the area of New Caledonia. Put the other way, New Caledonia is 1.02× the size of Fiji.
 Fiji |  New Caledonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 18,274 km²#152 of 194 | 18,576 km² |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationFiji: 3.16× the population | 933,154#158 of 194 · 2025 | 295,3332025 |
| DensityFiji: 3.21× the density | 51 / km²#134 of 194 | 16 / km² |
| Urban populationNew Caledonia: 1.15× the urban share | 60%#107 of 192 · 2025 | 68%2025 |
| Fertility rateFiji: 1.16× the births per woman | 2.27 per woman#82 of 192 · 2024 | 1.96 per woman2024 |
| Population growthNew Caledonia: 0.45 points higher | +0.47%#128 of 192 · 2025 | +0.92%2025 |
| Birth rateFiji: 1.28× the birth rate | 17.9 per 1,000#83 of 192 · 2024 | 14.0 per 1,0002024 |
| Death rateFiji: 1.51× the death rate | 9.5 per 1,000#45 of 192 · 2024 | 6.3 per 1,0002024 |
| Children under 15Fiji: 5.7 points higher | 26.8%#83 of 192 · 2025 | 21.1%2025 |
| People over 65New Caledonia: 5.2 points higher | 6.6%#107 of 192 · 2025 | 11.8%2025 |
| Net migrationNew Caledonia: 5.0 per 1,000 higher | −3.5 per 1,000#164 of 192 · 2025 | +1.5 per 1,0002025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.37 per 1,000#83 of 190 · 2025 | — |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNew Caledonia: 11.4 years longer | 67.5 years#148 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years2024 |
| Infant mortality | 23.5 per 1,000 births#59 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| University enrolment | 75.0%#39 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.731#110 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNew Caledonia: 4.83× the income per person | $6,230#102 of 185 · 2025 | $30,0702024 |
| GDPNew Caledonia: 1.38× the economy | $6.2B2025 | $8.55B2024 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $16,338#105 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growthFiji: 16.7 points higher | +3.2%#93 of 187 · 2025 | −13.5%2024 |
| Inflation | −1.4%#172 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentNew Caledonia: 2.11× the unemployment | 5.3%#83 of 178 · 2025 | 11.2%2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 4.7%#56 of 149 · 2019 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 30.7#112 of 149 · 2019 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureFiji: 33.8 points higher | 35.6% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 | 1.8% of jobs2025 |
| Jobs in industryNew Caledonia: 7.9 points higher | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 | 20.6% of jobs2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNew Caledonia: 25.9 points higher | 51.7% of jobs#110 of 178 · 2025 | 77.6% of jobs2025 |
| Foreign investmentNew Caledonia: 1.7 points higher | 4.2% of GDP#46 of 184 · 2025 | 5.9% of GDP2024 |
| ExportsFiji: 42.7 points higher | 54.4% of GDP#41 of 168 · 2024 | 11.7% of GDP2024 |
| Military spending | 1.3% of GDP#96 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 75%#109 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 92 per 1002022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaFiji: 1.28× the forest share | 62% of land#24 of 192 · 2024 | 48% of land2024 |
| CO₂ per personNew Caledonia: 10.5× the CO₂ per person | 1.62 t a year#112 of 185 · 2024 | 17.1 t a year2024 |
| Renewable energyFiji: 18.8 points higher | 28.4%#83 of 190 · 2022 | 9.6%2022 |
| Access to electricityNew Caledonia: 4.1 points higher | 95.9%#127 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | 6.4 µg/m³#177 of 191 · 2023 | — |
| Protected landNew Caledonia: 55.7 points higher | 3.9% of land#172 of 191 · 2025 | 59.6% of land2025 |
| Arable landFiji: 3.9 points higher | 4.2% of land#135 of 190 · 2024 | 0.3% of land2024 |
| Water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 2,592 mm#12 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityFiji: 0.69 higher | +0.98#36 of 193 · 2025 | +0.292025 |
| Control of corruptionFiji: 0.39 higher | +0.53#58 of 193 · 2025 | +0.142025 |
| Homicide rate | 2.1 per 100,000#78 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Territory of France |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France |
| Capital | Suva | Noum'ea |
| Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) | CFP Franc (XPF) |
| Official languages | English, Fiji Hindi, Fijian | French |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+12 | UTC+11 |
| Calling code | +679 | +687 |
| Region | Melanesia, Oceania | Melanesia, Oceania |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Fiji sits at about 17° S and is stretched to 1.1× its true area; New Caledonia at 21° S is stretched to 1.15×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Fiji bigger than New Caledonia?
- No. Fiji and New Caledonia are almost exactly the same size. Fiji covers 18,274 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
- How many times does Fiji fit into New Caledonia?
- About 1.0 times: New Caledonia has 1.02× the area of Fiji.
- Why do Fiji and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Fiji is drawn about 1.1× its true area there and New Caledonia about 1.15×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Fiji or New Caledonia?
- Fiji: 933,154 people against 295,333. Density: Fiji 51 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².
- Which is richer, Fiji or New Caledonia?
- By gross national income per person, New Caledonia: $30,070 against $6,230 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 4.83× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Fiji or New Caledonia?
- In New Caledonia: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 67.5 — 11.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Fiji and New Caledonia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Fiji: parliamentary republic; New Caledonia: dependent territory.