Melanesia Cities by Population 2026

5 Most Populated Melanesia Cities

Papua New Guinea Flag Port Moresby

594,535

Papua New Guinea Flag Lae

192,479

Solomon Islands Flag Guadalcanal

190,274

Solomon Islands Flag Malaita

168,201

Vanuatu Flag Shefa

114,356
City
Country
Population ↓
Papua New Guinea FlagPort MoresbyPapua New Guinea594,535
Papua New Guinea FlagLaePapua New Guinea192,479
Solomon Islands FlagGuadalcanalSolomon Islands190,274
Solomon Islands FlagMalaitaSolomon Islands168,201
Vanuatu FlagShefaVanuatu114,356
Fiji FlagNadiFiji111,780
Solomon Islands FlagWesternSolomon Islands108,743
Fiji FlagSuvaFiji101,905
Solomon Islands FlagHoniaraSolomon Islands101,471
Fiji FlagLautokaFiji95,054
New Caledonia FlagNoumeaNew Caledonia84,664
Vanuatu FlagSanmaVanuatu72,519
Fiji FlagNausoriFiji68,980
Solomon Islands FlagMakira-UlawaSolomon Islands62,107
Vanuatu FlagTafeaVanuatu61,707
Papua New Guinea FlagWewakPapua New Guinea59,807
Vanuatu FlagPort VilaVanuatu56,352
Vanuatu FlagMalampaVanuatu44,969
Papua New Guinea FlagKimbePapua New Guinea44,110
Solomon Islands FlagChoiseulSolomon Islands42,075
Papua New Guinea FlagMadangPapua New Guinea41,627
Vanuatu FlagPenamaVanuatu40,769
Solomon Islands FlagIsabelSolomon Islands39,631
Solomon Islands FlagCentralSolomon Islands35,267
New Caledonia FlagDumbeaNew Caledonia34,771
Papua New Guinea FlagMount HagenPapua New Guinea32,547
Papua New Guinea FlagGorokaPapua New Guinea29,330
Fiji FlagLamiFiji29,032
Fiji FlagTavuaFiji28,517
New Caledonia FlagPaitaNew Caledonia28,152
Solomon Islands FlagTemotuSolomon Islands26,668
Fiji FlagLabasaFiji25,444
New Caledonia FlagLe Mont-DoreNew Caledonia24,936
Papua New Guinea FlagVanimoPapua New Guinea22,723
Vanuatu FlagLuganvilleVanuatu21,438
Papua New Guinea FlagPopondettaPapua New Guinea20,124
Papua New Guinea FlagDaruPapua New Guinea18,770
Papua New Guinea FlagKundiawaPapua New Guinea16,138
Papua New Guinea FlagKiungaPapua New Guinea16,097
Papua New Guinea FlagLorengauPapua New Guinea15,608
Papua New Guinea FlagAlotauPapua New Guinea15,188
Fiji FlagBaFiji13,767
Papua New Guinea FlagKaviengPapua New Guinea13,679
Vanuatu FlagTorbaVanuatu13,340
Papua New Guinea FlagTabubilPapua New Guinea12,981
Papua New Guinea FlagMendiPapua New Guinea12,618
Papua New Guinea FlagBukaPapua New Guinea11,466
Fiji FlagSigatokaFiji11,377
Papua New Guinea FlagKokopoPapua New Guinea11,338
Papua New Guinea FlagKerowagiPapua New Guinea9,980
Papua New Guinea FlagAitapePapua New Guinea9,599
New Caledonia FlagKoneNew Caledonia8,032
Papua New Guinea FlagTariPapua New Guinea7,113
Papua New Guinea FlagKeremaPapua New Guinea7,108
Fiji FlagRakirakiFiji7,034
Papua New Guinea FlagBalimoPapua New Guinea6,938
Fiji FlagSavusavuFiji6,661
Fiji FlagNavuaFiji6,598
Papua New Guinea FlagKagamugaPapua New Guinea6,489
Papua New Guinea FlagWabagPapua New Guinea6,448
Papua New Guinea FlagRabaulPapua New Guinea6,308
Papua New Guinea FlagFinschafenPapua New Guinea6,150
Papua New Guinea FlagMinjPapua New Guinea5,652
New Caledonia FlagBourailNew Caledonia5,582
Papua New Guinea FlagBuloloPapua New Guinea5,382
Papua New Guinea FlagKainantuPapua New Guinea5,346
Solomon Islands FlagRennell and BellonaSolomon Islands4,948
Papua New Guinea FlagBiallaPapua New Guinea4,813
Fiji FlagLevukaFiji4,558
New Caledonia FlagPoindimieNew Caledonia4,551
Papua New Guinea FlagRamu SugarPapua New Guinea4,504
New Caledonia FlagKoumacNew Caledonia4,323
New Caledonia FlagCanalaNew Caledonia3,947
Papua New Guinea FlagKerevatPapua New Guinea3,866
Papua New Guinea FlagArawaPapua New Guinea3,749
New Caledonia FlagHouailouNew Caledonia3,724
Fiji FlagVatukoulaFiji3,700
Papua New Guinea FlagHagita EstatePapua New Guinea3,610
Papua New Guinea FlagIalibuPapua New Guinea3,538
Papua New Guinea FlagWapenamandaPapua New Guinea3,476
New Caledonia FlagLa FoaNew Caledonia3,432
Papua New Guinea FlagMosaPapua New Guinea3,400
New Caledonia FlagBoulouparis (Bouloupari)New Caledonia3,366
New Caledonia FlagVohNew Caledonia3,169
New Caledonia FlagPouemboutNew Caledonia3,117
Papua New Guinea FlagBanzPapua New Guinea3,061
Papua New Guinea FlagChuavePapua New Guinea3,002
New Caledonia FlagPoyaNew Caledonia2,990
Papua New Guinea FlagLaiagamPapua New Guinea2,934
Papua New Guinea FlagLondolovitPapua New Guinea2,672
Papua New Guinea FlagWauPapua New Guinea2,609
New Caledonia FlagThioNew Caledonia2,591
Papua New Guinea FlagNamatanaiPapua New Guinea2,547
Papua New Guinea FlagMalalauaPapua New Guinea2,367
Papua New Guinea FlagKwikilaPapua New Guinea2,365
Papua New Guinea FlagLakurumau EstatePapua New Guinea2,311
Papua New Guinea FlagMambaPapua New Guinea2,306
Papua New Guinea FlagKikoriPapua New Guinea2,243
Papua New Guinea FlagBereinaPapua New Guinea2,220
Fiji FlagPacific HarbourFiji2,102
Papua New Guinea FlagMaprikPapua New Guinea1,825
Papua New Guinea FlagMoreguinaPapua New Guinea1,799
Papua New Guinea FlagAmbuntiPapua New Guinea1,728
Papua New Guinea FlagAngoramPapua New Guinea1,656
Papua New Guinea FlagKupianoPapua New Guinea1,506
Papua New Guinea FlagBaimuruPapua New Guinea1,428
Papua New Guinea FlagWakwakPapua New Guinea1,294
Papua New Guinea FlagWakunaiPapua New Guinea1,181
Papua New Guinea FlagIhuPapua New Guinea1,118
Papua New Guinea FlagTufi Government StationPapua New Guinea1,082
Papua New Guinea FlagKandrianPapua New Guinea910
Papua New Guinea FlagPaiamPapua New Guinea855
Papua New Guinea FlagKokodaPapua New Guinea848
Papua New Guinea FlagLombrum Navy BasePapua New Guinea837
Papua New Guinea FlagPogeraPapua New Guinea803
Papua New Guinea FlagTapiniPapua New Guinea791
Papua New Guinea FlagGoldiePapua New Guinea762
Papua New Guinea FlagUkarumpa S.I.L.Papua New Guinea622
Papua New Guinea FlagYonkiPapua New Guinea621
Papua New Guinea FlagBihutePapua New Guinea359
Papua New Guinea FlagSogeriPapua New Guinea282
Papua New Guinea FlagBogiaPapua New Guinea260
Papua New Guinea FlagNonga BasePapua New Guinea221

Melanesia Cities Overview

The urban centers of Melanesia are relatively modest in size compared to other world regions, with Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, standing as the region’s largest city with 594.5K residents. This reflects the region’s predominantly rural population distribution and the challenges of urban development in tropical Pacific island nations.

Each Melanesian nation is anchored by its capital city. Noumea in New Caledonia has 84.7K residents, while Suva in Fiji maintains 101.9K inhabitants. Honiara in the Solomon Islands has 101.5K residents, and Port Vila in Vanuatu hosts 56.4K people.

Papua New Guinea, the largest country in the region, features several secondary urban centers, including Lae (192.5K), Arawa (3.7K), and Mount Hagen (32.5K). Similarly, Fiji has developed regional centers such as Lautoka (95.1K) and Nadi (111.8K).

Sources

  1. World Urbanization Prospects 2025 - United Nations population estimates and projections of major Urban Agglomerations
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.