French Polynesia

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.

• includes five archipelagoes (four volcanic, one 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

noun:

French Polynesian(s)

adjective:

French Polynesian

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.02 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2011 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

• overseas lands of France;
• overseas territory of France from 1946-2003;
• overseas collectivity of France since 2003, though it is often referred to as an overseas country due to its degree of autonomy

name:

Papeete (located on Tahiti)

geographic coordinates:

17 32 S, 149 34 W

time difference:

UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Richard DIDIER (since 24 January 2011)

head of government:

President of French Polynesia Oscar TEMARU (since 1 April 2011); President of the Assembly of French Polynesia Jacqui DROLLET (since 14 April 2011)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

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 French Polynesia government and the president of the Assembly of French Polynesia elected by the members of the assembly for five-year terms (no term limits)

• 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 (includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours);
• New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api);
• Our Home alliance;
• People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira);
• Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira);
• Union for Democracy alliance or UPD

• 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

name:

"Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" (Long Live Tahiti Nui)

lyrics/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 (see France)

• 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

agriculture:

13%

industry:

19%

services:

68% (2002)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• fish;
• coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee;
• poultry, beef, dairy products

general assessment:

NA

domestic:

combined fixed and mobile-cellular density is roughly 90 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2009)

• the publicly-owned French Overseas Network (RFO), which operates in France's overseas departments and territories, broadcasts on 2 television channels and 1 radio station;
• a government-owned TV station is operating;
• a small number of privately-owned radio stations also broadcast (2008)

total:

2,590 km

country comparison to the world: 170

paved:

1,735 km

unpaved:

855 km (1999)

males age 16-49:

67,363

females age 16-49:

66,053 (2010 est.)

male:

2,498

female:

2,390 (2010 est.)