French Polynesia

Territory of French PolynesiaTerritoire de la Polynesie Francaise

overseas territory of France since 1946Independence none (overseas territory of France)

French Polynesia as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 74 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalPapeete
Area3,941 km2
LocationOceania, halfway between Australia and South America
1993

Every edition of French Polynesia

Populationas each edition published it
210,333 people July 1993 est. · 190,181 in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.26% 1993 est. · 0.63% in 2025
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 26.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
70.33 years 1993 est. · 78.9 yrs in 2025
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.32 children per woman 1993 est. · 3.9 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
15 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 23 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$6,000 1991 est. · $23,300 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 2.5% in 2001

Geography

Oceania, halfway between Australia and South America

14 fields

Land useshare of 3,941 km2

arable land 1%permanent crops 19%meadows and pastures 5%forest and woodland 31%other 44%
Area
3,941km2
land area: 3,660 km2comparative area: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
Coastline
2,525km
land boundaries: 0 kmexclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

Location

Oceania, halfway between Australia and South America

Climate

tropical, but moderate

Terrain

mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Natural resources

timber, fish, cobalt

Environment

occasional cyclonic storm in January; includes five archipelagoes

Note

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

People

14 fields
Population
210,333
(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 2.26% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth
27.89Death
5.27Net migration
0

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years70.33
67.95 · 72.84
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy98%
98% · 98%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 14 and over but definition of literacy not available (1977)

Ethnic divisions

Polynesian 78%Chinese 12%local French 6%metropolitan French 4%

Religions

Protestant 54%Roman Catholic 30%other 16%
Labor force
76,630employed
(1988)

Infant mortality rate

15 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.32 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:
French Polynesian(s)
adjective:
French Polynesian

Languages

French (official), Tahitian (official)

Government

Overseas territory of France since 1946

20 fields

Names

conventional long form:
Territory of French Polynesia
conventional short form:
French Polynesia
local long form:
Territoire de la Polynesie Francaise
local short form:
Polynesie Francaise

Type

overseas territory of France since 1946

Capital

Papeete

Administrative divisions

none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 5 archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, and Iles Sous-le-Vent note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia

Independence

none (overseas territory of France)

Constitution

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

National holiday

National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Political parties and leaders

  • People's Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira; Gaullist), Gaston FLOSSE;
  • Polynesian Union Party (Te Tiarama; centrist), Alexandre LEONTIEFF;
  • New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api), Emile VERNAUDON;
  • Polynesian Liberation Front (Tavini Huiraatira), Oscar TEMARU;
  • other small parties

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Elections

French National Assembly:
  • last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held 21 and 28 March 1993);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (2 total) People's Rally (Gaullist) 1, New Fatherland Party 1
French Senate:
  • last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1998);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (1 total) party NA
Territorial Assembly:
  • last held 17 March 1991 (next to be held March 1996);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (41 total) People's Rally (Gaullist) 18, Polynesian Union Party 14, New Fatherland Party 5, other 4

Executive branch

French president, high commissioner of the republic, president of the Council of Ministers, vice president of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch

unicameral Territorial Assembly

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal, Court of the First Instance, Court of Administrative Law

Leaders

Chief of State:
President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); High Commissioner of the Republic Michel JAU (since NA 1992)
Head of Government:
President of the Council of Ministers Gaston FLOSSE (since 10 May 1991); Vice President of the Council of Ministers Joel BUILLARD (since 12 September 1991)

Member of

ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US

as an overseas territory of France, French Polynesian interests are represented in the US by France

US diplomatic representation

none (overseas territory of France)

Flag

the flag of France is used

Economy

18 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$6,000
(1991 est.)
Unemployment rate
14.9%
(1988 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$614 millionExpenditures
$957 million
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)

Overview

Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for about 20% of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings.

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.2 billion (1991 est.)

Exports

$88.9 million (f.o.b., 1989)

commodities:
coconut products 79%, mother-of-pearl 14%, vanilla, shark meat
partners:
France 54%, US 17%, Japan 17%

Imports

$765 million (c.i.f., 1989)

commodities:
fuels, foodstuffs, equipment
partners:
France 53%, US 11%, Australia 6%, NZ 5%

Electricity

75,000 kW capacity; 275 million kWh produced, 1,330 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts

Agriculture

  • coconut and vanilla plantations;
  • vegetables and fruit;
  • poultry, beef, dairy products

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $3.95 billion

Currency

1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

  • Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 99.65 (January 1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00 (1990), 115.99 (1989), 108.30 (1988);
  • note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

5 fields

Merchant marine, 3 ships by typeone square, one ship

passenger-cargo 2refrigerated cargo; note - a captive subset of the French register 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,127 GRT/6,710 DWT

Highways

600 km (1982)

Ports

Papeete, Bora-bora

Airports

total:
43
usable:
41
with permanent-surface runways:
23
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 12

Telecommunications

  • 33,200 telephones;
  • 84,000 radio receivers;
  • 26,400 TV sets;
  • broadcast stations - 5 AM, 2 FM, 6 TV;
  • 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie

3 fields

Branches

French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie

Note

defense is responsibility of France

Affiliation

(overseas territory of France)

Central Intelligence Agency. “French Polynesia.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/french-polynesia/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →