The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.

Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia
15 00 S, 140 00 W
Oceania
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls) ; land: 3,660 sq km ; water: 507 sq km
slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
0 km
2,525 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
tropical, but moderate
mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m ; highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m
timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower
arable land: 0.75% ; permanent crops: 5.5% ; other: 93.75% (2005)
10 sq km (2003)


occasional cyclonic storms in January
NA

includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru
278,963 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 25.4% (male 36,223/female 34,677) ; 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 98,784/female 91,585) ; 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 8,933/female 8,761) (2007 est.)
total: 28.3 years ; male: 28.6 years ; female: 28 years (2007 est.)
1.461% (2007 est.)
16.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
2.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.045 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.079 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female ; total population: 1.066 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 7.84 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 9.01 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 6.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 76.31 years ; male: 73.88 years ; female: 78.86 years (2007 est.)
1.98 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: French Polynesian(s) ; adjective: French Polynesian
Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4%
Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6%
French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)
definition: age 14 and over can read and write ; total population: 98% ; male: 98% ; female: 98% (1977 est.)


conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia ; conventional short form: French Polynesia ; local long form: Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynesie Francaise ; local short form: Polynesie Francaise ; former: French Colony of Oceania
NA
name: Papeete ; geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W ; time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are five archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, Iles Sous-le-Vent

none (overseas lands of France)
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
the laws of France, where applicable, apply
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Anne BOQUET (since September 2005) ; head of government: President of French Polynesia Oscar TEMARU (since 13 September 2007); President of the Territorial Assembly Antony GEROS (since 9 May 2004) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers ; elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the territorial government and the president of the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly for five-year terms (no term limits)
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (57 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Union for Democracy 27, New Star 1, This Country is Yours 1; after by-elections of 13 February 2005 seating was as follows: People's Rally for the Republic 27, Union for Democracy 27, and Alliance for a New Democracy 3 ; note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held in September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif
Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN [Nicole BOUTEAU and Philip SCHYLE](includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours); Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; Union for Democracy or UPD [Oscar TEMARU]
NA
FZ, ITUC, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WMO
two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern on the upper half; a stylized red, blue, and white ship rides on the wave pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions
none (overseas lands of France)
none (overseas lands of France)
overseas lands of France; overseas territory of France from 1946-2004
under certain acts of France, French Polynesia has acquired autonomy in all areas except those relating to police and justice, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and foreign affairs; the duties of its president are fashioned after those of the French prime minister



Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits substantially from development agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social services.
$4.58 billion (2003 est.)
$3.8 billion (2002)
5.1% (2002)
$17,500 (2003 est.)
agriculture: 3.1% ; industry: 19% ; services: 76.9% (2005)
65,930 (December 2005)
agriculture: 13% ; industry: 19% ; services: 68% (2002)
11.7% (2005)
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

1.1% (2006 est.)

revenues: $865 million ; expenditures: $644.1 million (1999)

fish; coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products
tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates
NA%
462 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 60.7% ; hydro: 39.3% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
429.7 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
5,800 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
5,678 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$211 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat
France 46.3%, Japan 20.8%, Niger 12.8%, US 12.5% (2006)
$1.706 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
France 52.7%, Singapore 14.9%, NZ 6.8%, US 6.6% (2006)


$NA


$NA
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)
XPF
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - NA (2007), 95.03 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003) ; note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro
calendar year
$579.8 million (2004)
53,600 (2006)
152,000 (2006)
general assessment: NA ; domestic: NA ; international: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998)
128,000 (1997)
7 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
40,000 (1997)
.pf
14,059 (2007)
2 (2000)
65,000 (2006)

54 (2007)
total: 37 ; over 3,047 m: 2 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 27 ; under 914 m: 3 (2007)
total: 17 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 9 ; under 914 m: 8 (2007)
1 (2007)


total: 2,590 km ; paved: 1,735 km ; unpaved: 855 km (1999)

total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,684 GRT/17,291 DWT ; by type: cargo 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 ; registered in other countries: 2 (Wallis and Futuna 2) (2007)
Papeete

no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force

males age 18-49: 69,679 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 55,305 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 2,747 (2005 est.)

defense is the responsibility of France
none



