Belep

Belep
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Location of Belep
Map
Coordinates: 19°45′00″S 163°40′00″E / 19.75°S 163.6667°E / -19.75; 163.6667
CountryFrance
Sui generis collectivityNew Caledonia
ProvinceNorth Province
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Baptiste Moilou[1]
Area
1
69.5 km2 (26.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2019 census)[2]
867
 • Density12/km2 (32/sq mi)
Ethnic distribution
 • 2019 censusKanaks 98.5%
Europeans 0.12%
Mixed 1.04%
Other 0.23%
Time zoneUTC+11:00
INSEE/Postal code
98801 /98811
Elevation0–283 m (0–928 ft)
(avg. 20 m or 66 ft)
1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.

Belep (French pronunciation: [belɛp]; sometimes unofficially spelled Bélep) is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It has almost 900 people living on 70 km2.

The commune's territory is made up of the Belep Islands (also known as the Belep Archipelago), which lie to the north of New Caledonia's mainland. The two principal islands in the Belep Archipelago are Art Island (a.k.a. Aar) and Pott Island fr (a.k.a. Phwoc). The rest of the archipelago consists of the Northern and Southern Daos Islands, and several very small islets.

The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Waala, on Art Island, the largest of the Belep Islands. The local language is Nyêlâyu.[3]

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ Population, ménages et logement par commune, en 2019, Institut de la statistique et des études économiques Nouvelle-Calédonie
  3. ^ Monnerie, Denis (2018). "Following The Pathways. Contemporary Ceremonies, Representations of the Past and Catholicism in Northern New Caledonia". Les dynamiques religieuses dans le pacifique: Formes et figures contemporaines de la spiritualité océanienne. pacific-credo Publications. pp. 85–111. ISBN 978-2-9563981-0-3.