Belep

French commune |nomcommune=Belep
province=North Province
map_size=300px
adjustable_

mapcaption=Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
insee=98801
cp=98811
maire=Jean-Baptiste Moilou
|mandat=
lat_long= |longitude=|latitude=
alt moy=20 m|alt mini=0 m|alt maxi=283 m
km²=69.5
sans=930
date-sans=2004 census
ethnic=Kanaks 99.3%
Europeans 0%
Polynesians 0%
Other 0.7%|date-ethnic=1996 census
dens=13.4|date-dens=2004 census|

Belep (sometimes unofficially spelled Bélep) is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.

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 (aka Aar) and Pott Island (aka Phwoc), and the rest of the archipelago consists of the Northern Daos Islands, the 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.

History

The Belep Islands were named after a Kanak chief who settled there in ancient times. A Catholic mission was founded in Belep in 1856. The islands were the site of a leper colony between 1892 and 1898.