New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie)[nb 1] is a special collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia and 20,000 km (12,000 mi) from Metropolitan France.[4] The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Beleparchipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets.[5] The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea.
