It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian (Wallisians, Futunians, Tahitians), Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities.

The area served first as a penal colony, later as a centre for the exportation of the nickel and gold that was mined nearby.

Even today the United States wartime military influence lingers, both with the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers[citation needed] and also with the names of several of the quarters in Nouméa.

Districts such as "Receiving" and "Robinson", or even "Motor Pool", strike the anglophone ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear.

The city is situated on an irregular, hilly peninsula near the southeast end of New Caledonia, which is in the south-west Pacific Ocean.

Temperatures are warmer in the months of January, February and March with average highs hovering around 30 degrees Celsius and cooler during the months of July and August where average high temperatures are around 23 degrees Celsius.

[13] At the same census, 20.8% of the population of the urban area 15 years and older reported that they could speak at least one of the Kanak languages.

[citation needed] The mayor of Noumea is Sonia Lagarde; in 2020 her re-election was opposed by the former leader of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME), Cherifa Linossier, whose unsuccessful campaign was based on local economic revitalisation.