New Caledonia New Caledonia New Caledonia (; ) is a special collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" ("the pebble"). New Caledonia has a land area of . Its population of 268,767 (August 2014 census) consists of a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New
Solomon Islands (archipelago) the Central Solomon languages. The predominant religion on the islands is Christianity, with the largest denomination being the Anglican Church of Melanesia. Governance of the Solomon Islands archipelago is split between the state of Solomon Islands and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. Both countries are constitutional monarchies and Commonwealth realms. Bougainville is considering independence from Papua New Guinea. Solomon Islands (archipelago) The Solomon Islands are an archipelago in the western South Pacific Ocean, located northeast of Australia. They are in the Melanesia subregion and bioregion of Oceania. The archipelago forms much of the territory of Solomon