Loyalty Islands Province
Province des îles Loyauté | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 Location of Loyalty Islands Province in New Caledonia | |
| Coordinates: 21°04′S 167°21′E / 21.067°S 167.350°E | |
| Country | France |
| Collectivity | New Caledonia |
| Seat | Wé (Lifou) |
| Government | |
| • President | Jacques Lalié |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,980.9 km2 (764.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2019) | |
• Total | 18,353 |
| • Density | 9.3/km2 (24/sq mi) |
| Ethnic Groups (2019) | |
| • Kanak | 94.63% |
| • Multiracial | 2% |
| • European | 1.74% |
| • Ni-Vanuatu | 0.09% |
| • Wallisians and Futunans | 0.08% |
| • Indonesians | 0.05% |
| • Other Asian | 0.02% |
| • Tahitians | 0.01% |
| • Vietnamese | 0.01% |
| • Other | 1.38% |
| Languages | Drehu, Iaai, Nengone |
| Website | province-iles |
Loyalty Islands Province (French: Province des îles Loyauté, pronounced [pʁɔvɛ̃s dez‿il lwajote]) is one of the three top-level administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. It encompasses the Loyalty Islands (French: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.
The provincial government seat is at Lifou. The Loyalty Islands are a collectivité territoriale of France. The province's 2019 population was approximately 18,353 inhabitants living on almost 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi). The native inhabitants are Melanesians who speak various Kanak languages and Polynesians who speak the Fagauvea language.