Background: Around 800 B.C., the first settlers arrived on the islands of Wallis and Futuna, which are a natural midpoint between Fiji and Samoa. Around A.D. 1500, Tongans invaded Wallis, and a chiefdom system resembling Tonga’s formal hierarchy developed on the island. Tongans attempted to settle Futuna but were repeatedly rebuffed. Samoans settled Futuna in the 1600s, and a slightly less centralized chiefdom system formed. Dutch explorers were the first Europeans to see the islands in 1616, followed intermittently by other Europeans, including British explorer Samuel WALLIS in 1767. French Catholic missionaries were the first Europeans to permanently settle Wallis and Futuna in 1837, and they converted most of the population of both islands by 1846. The missionaries and newly converted King LAVELUA of Uvea on Wallis asked France for a protectorate in 1842 following a local rebellion. France agreed, although the protectorate status would not be ratified until 1887. In 1888, King MUSULAMU of Alo and King TAMOLE of Sigave, both on Futuna, signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate; the Wallis and Futuna protectorate was integrated into the territory of New Caledonia the same year. France renegotiated the terms of the protectorate with the territory’s three kings in 1910, expanding French authority. Wallis and Futuna was the only French colony to side with the Vichy regime during World War II, until the arrival of Free French and US troops in 1942. In 1959, inhabitants of the islands voted to separate from New Caledonia, becoming a French overseas territory in 1961. Despite the split, a significant Wallisian and Futunan community still lives in New Caledonia. In 2003, Wallis and Futuna became a French overseas collectivity. The islands joined the Pacific Islands Forum as an associate member in 2018, two years after France’s other Pacific territories became full members of the organization.

Area
Total: 142 km²
Land: 142 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets
Comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 129 km

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

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 250-300 cm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees Celsius

Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills

Elevation
Highest point: Mont Singavi (on Futuna) 522 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 42.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 7% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 35.2% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
Forest: 74.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 0% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 0.6 km² (2022)

Natural hazards: cyclones; tsunamis

Geography
Note: both island groups have fringing reefs; Wallis contains several prominent crater lakes

Population
Total: 15,964 (2024 est.)
Male: 8,201
Female: 7,763
Growth rate: 0.22% (2024 est.)

Languages: Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French (official) 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.8% (male 1,643/female 1,511)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 5,535/female 5,247)
65 years and over: 12.7% (2024 est.) (male 1,023/female 1,005)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 48.1 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 29.3 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 18.8 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 5.3 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 36.3 years (2024 est.)
Male: 35.5 years
Female: 37.3 years

Population growth rate: 0.22% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 11.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Urbanization
Urban population: 0% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1,000 MATA-UTU (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 78.2 years
Female: 84.2 years

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Rural: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: NA

Sanitation facility access
Rural: 5.8% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 5.8% of population (2022 est.)

Capital
Name: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
Geographic coordinates: 13 57 S, 171 56 W
Time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 3 administrative precincts (circonscriptions, singular - circonscription) Alo, Sigave, Uvea

Legal system: French civil law

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Administrator Superior Jean-François de MANHEULLE (since 17 November 2025)
Head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Munipoese MULI'AKA'AKA (since 20 March 2022)
Cabinet: Council of the Territory appointed by the administrator superior on the advice of the Territorial Assembly
Election/appointment process: French president elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); administrator superior appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly elected by assembly members
Note: there are 3 traditional kings with limited powers

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Territorial Assembly (Assemblée territoriale)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 20 (directly elected)
Electoral system: proportional representation
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 5 years
Most recent election date: 3/20/2022
Parties elected and seats per party: Ofa mo'oni ki tou fenua (2); Mauli fetokoniaki (2); 1 seat each from 16 other lists
Note: 1 senator is indirectly elected to the French Senate by an electoral college for a 6-year term, and 1 deputy is directly elected to the French National Assembly for a 5-year term

Flag description: unofficial local flag has a red field with four white isosceles triangles in the middle; the apexes of the triangles are oriented inward and at right angles to each other; a small flag of France, outlined in white on two sides, is in the upper-left corner

National anthem
Title: 'La Marseillaise' (The Song of Marseille)
Lyrics/music: Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle
History: official anthem, as a French territory

Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Budget
Revenues: $32.54 million (2015 est.)
Expenditures: $34.18 million (2015 est.)

Exports
Commodities: seats (2023)
Commodities note: top export commodities based on value in dollars over $500,000

Imports
Commodities: refined petroleum, prepared meat, poultry, iron pipe fittings, animal food (2023)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,000 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 26 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 0 (2018)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0 (2019)

Internet
Users percent of population: 45.8% (2021 est.)

Airports: 2 (2025)

Merchant marine
Total: 1 (2023)
By type: general cargo 1