Map of French Polynesia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: 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 halted in January 1996. In recent years French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.


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Location: Oceania five archipelagoes (Archipel des Tuamotu Iles Gambier Iles Marquises Iles Tubuai Society Islands) in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between South America and Australia

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S 140 00 W

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 4,167 km²
Land: 3,827 km²
Water: 340 km²
Rank: 175
Comparative: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,525 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical but moderate

Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources: timber fish cobalt hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 12.5%
Forest: 43.7%
Other: 43.8%

Irrigated land: 10 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: occasional cyclonic storms in January

Geography
Note: includes five archipelagoes: four volcanic (Iles Gambier Iles Marquises Iles Tubuai Society Islands) and one coral (Archipel des Tuamotu); 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


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Population: 282,703 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 182
Growth rate: 0.94% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 122
Below poverty line: 19.7% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: French Polynesian
Adjective: French Polynesian

Ethnic groups: Polynesian 78% Chinese 12% local French 6% metropolitan French 4%

Languages: French (official) 61.1% Polynesian (official) 31.4% Asian languages 1.2% other 0.3% unspecified 6% (2002 census)

Religions: Protestant 54% Roman Catholic 30% other 10% no religion 6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.31%
15-24 years: 16.36%
25-54 years: 44.1%
55-64 years: 8.83%
65 years and over: 7.4% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 42.2%
Youth dependency ratio: 31.5%
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.7%
Potential support ratio: 9.3%

Median age
Total: 31 years
Male: 30.9 years
Female: 31.2 years

Population growth rate: 0.94% (2015 est.)
Rank: 122

Birth rate: 15.22 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 131

Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 189

Net migration rate: -0.84 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 145

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 55.9% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: PAPEETE (capital) 133,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male/female
15-24 years: 1.08 male/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male/female
55-64 years: 1.06 male/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male/female
Total population: 1.05 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.73 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.25 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.18 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 177

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.98 years
Male: 74.72 years
Female: 79.36 years
Rank: 75

Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 133

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
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
Etymology: the term Polynesia is an 18th-century construct composed of two Greek words 'poly' and 'nesoi' (islands) and refers to the hundreds of islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean

Government type: parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity

Capital
Name: Papeete
Geographic coordinates: 17 32 S 149 34 W
Time difference: UTC-10

Administrative divisions: none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government but there are 5 second order administrative units named Iles Australes Iles du Vent Iles Marquises Iles Sous le Vent Iles Tuamotu et Gambier

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas lands of France)

National holiday: Fete de la Federation 14 July (1789); note - the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day 29 June (1880)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: the laws of France where applicable apply

International law organization participation

Citizenship: see France

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Lionel BEFFRE (since 16 September 2013)
Head of government: President of French Polynesia Edouard FRITCH
Cabinet: Council of Ministers approved by the Assembly from a list of its members submitted by the president
Electionsappointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; French Polynesia president indirectly elected by Assembly of French Polynesia for a 5-year term (no term limits)

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly of French Polynesia or Assemblee de la Polynesie Francaise
Note: two seats were elected to the French Senate for a 6-year term on 20 September 2014 ; results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Popular Rally 1 People's Servant Party 1; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly for a 5-year term on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2; note - the UMP is France's ruling pary the Union for a Popular Movement
Elections: last held on 21 April 2013 and 5 May 2013
Election results: percent of vote by party - Popular Rally 45.1% UPD 29.3% A Tia Porinetia 25.6%; seats by party - Popular Rally 38 UPD 11 A Tia Porinetia 8

Judicial branch
Highest court: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel ; note - appeals beyond the French Polynesia Court of Appeal are heard by the Court of Cassation (in Paris)
Judge selection and term of office: NA
Subordinate courts: Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ITUC (NGOs) PIF (associate member) SPC UPU WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas lands of France)
From the us: none (overseas lands of France)

Flag description: two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half; a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern; the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors
Note: similar to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti the largest of the islands in French Polynesia which has no emblem in the white band; the flag of France is used for official occasions

National symbols: outrigger canoe; national colors: red white

National anthem
Name: 'Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui'
Lyrics and music: Maeva BOUGES Irmine TEHEI Angele TEROROTUA Johanna NOUVEAU Patrick AMARU Louis MAMATUI and Jean-Pierre CELESTIN
Note: adopted 1993; serves as a local anthem; as a territory of France 'La Marseillaise' is official

National heritage


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Economy overview: 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. After growing at an average yearly rate of 4.2% from 1997-2007 GDP stagnated in 2008 and fell by 4.2% in 2009 marking French Polynesia’s entry into recession. GDP growth was positive in 2010-12. Following steady employment level increases between 2002 and 2007 that averaged 2.4% yearly the number of workers fell by an annual average of 2.2% between 2008 and 2013 due in part to decreased tourism (down an average of 4% per year) in that time period. French Polynesia’s tourism-dominated service sector accounted for 85% of total value added for the economy in 2009 employing 80% of the workforce. A small manufacturing sector predominantly processes products from French Polynesia’s primary sector - 3% of total economy - including agriculture pearl farming and fishing.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 165

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 136

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 67

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.5%
Industry: 13%
Services: 84.5%

Agriculture products: coconuts vanilla vegetables fruits coffee; poultry beef dairy products; fish

Industries: tourism pearls agricultural processing handicrafts phosphates

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 114,300 (2012 est.)
Rank: 182
By occupation agriculture: 13%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 68%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 170

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 19.7% (2009 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.891 billion
Expenditures: $1.833 billion
Surplus or deficit: 0.8% of GDP (2012)
Surplus or deficit rank: 32

Taxes and other revenues: 26.4% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 108

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 66

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance

Exports:
Rank: 185
Commodities: cultured pearls coconut products mother-of-pearl vanilla shark meat
Partners: Japan 35% US 24% Hong Kong 17% France 9.1% China 4.2% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 169
Commodities: fuels foodstuffs machinery and equipment
Partners: France 24% South Korea 10% China 9.6% USA 9.3% New Zealand 8.5% Singapore 8.2% Australia 4% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $N/A

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 702 million kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 158
Consumption: 652.9 million kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 167
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 140
Imports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 151
Installed generating capacity: 224,000 kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 160
Generation sources fossil fuels: 79% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 94
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 94
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 21% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 90
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 173

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 138
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 127
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 192
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 136

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 184
Products consumption: 7,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 159
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 179
Products imports: 6,994 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products imports rank: 145

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 189
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 145
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 100
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 198
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 140

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.071 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 166

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 55,000
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20
Fixed lines rank: 159
Mobile cellular total: 239,700
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 86
Mobile cellular rank: 180

Telephone system
Domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular density is roughly 100 per 100 persons
International: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (2011)

Broadcast media: the publicly owned French Overseas Network (RFO) which operates in France's overseas departments and territories broadcasts on 2 TV channels and 1 radio station; 1 government-owned TV station; a small number of privately owned radio stations (2008)

Internet
Country code: .pf
Users total: 161,100
Users percent of population: 57.5%
Users rank: 163

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 54 (2013)
Rank: 87
With paved runways total: 45
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 33
With paved runways under 914 m: 5
With unpaved runways total: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways: 5 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 2,590 km
Paved: 1735 km
Unpaved: 855 km
Rank: 172

Waterways

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 12 (2010)
Rank: 107

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Papeete


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs