French Polynesia

The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In 1966, the French Government began testing nuclear weapons on the uninhabited Mururoa Atoll; following mounting opposition, the tests were moved underground in 1975. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing after a three-year moratorium. The tests were halted in January 1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.

agricultural land:

12.5% (2011 est.)

arable land:

0.7% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 6.3% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 5.5% (2011 est.)

forest:

43.7% (2011 est.)

other:

43.8% (2011 est.)

• sea level rise;
• extreme weather events (cyclones, storms, and tsunamis producing floods, landslides, erosion, and reef damage);
• droughts;
• fresh water scarcity

includes five archipelagoes:

• four volcanic (Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) and one coral (Archipel des Tuamotu);
• the Tuamotu Archipelago forms the largest group of atolls in the world - 78 in total, 48 inhabited;
• Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago 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

0-14 years:

22.21% (male 33,165 /female 31,322)

15-24 years:

15.37% (male 23,232 /female 21,405)

25-54 years:

44.4% (male 66,074 /female 62,854)

55-64 years:

9.72% (male 14,503 /female 13,719)

65 years and over:

8.3% (male 11,634 /female 12,465) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

45.3 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

34.8 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

10.5 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

9.5 (2015 est.)

total:

32.4 years (2018 est.)

male:

32.1 years

female:

32.6 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.93 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

5.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

4.1 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.5 years (2018 est.)

male:

75.2 years

female:

80 years

• overseas country of France;
• note - 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)

etymology:

the name means "water basket" and refers to the fact that the islanders originally used calabashes enclosed in baskets to fetch water at a spring in the area

• 5 administrative subdivisions (subdivisions administratives, singular - subdivision administrative):
  • Iles Australes (Austral Islands),
  • Iles du Vent (Windward Islands),
  • Iles Marquises (Marquesas Islands),
  • Iles Sous-le-Vent (Leeward Islands),
  • Iles Tuamotu-Gambier
  ;
• note - the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands together make up the Society Islands (Iles de la Societe)

history:

4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

amendments:

French constitution amendment procedures apply

chief of state:

President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Dominique SORAIN (since 10 July 2019)

head of government:

President of French Polynesia Edouard FRITCH (since 12 September 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers approved by the Assembly from a list of its members submitted by the president

elections/appointments:

• French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second 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)

highest courts:

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel (composition NA); note - appeals beyond the French Polynesia Court of Appeal are heard by the Court of Cassation (in Paris)

judge selection and term of office:

judges assigned from France normally for 3 years

subordinate courts:

Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

• A Tia Porinetia [Teva ROHFRITSCH]
• Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN (includes The New Star [Philip SCHYLE], This Country is Yours [Nicole BOUTEAU])
• New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]
• Our Home alliance
• People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]
• Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]
• Tapura Huiraatira [Edouard FRITICH]
• Tavini Huiraatira [James CHANCELOR]
• Union for Democracy alliance or UPD [Oscar TEMARU]

• 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: identical to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti, the largest and most populous of the islands in French Polynesia, but 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 (the compositional group created both the lyrics and music)

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, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and foreign affairs;
• the duties of its president are fashioned after those of the French prime minister

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

agriculture:

13%

industry:

19%

services:

68% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

one of the most advanced telecom infrastructures for the Pacific islands region; 85% mobile broadband coverage (2018)

domestic:

fixed-line subscriptions 33 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular density is roughly 97 per 100 persons (2018)

international:

• country code - 689;
• landing points for the NATITUA, Manatua, and Honotua submarine cables to other French Polynesian Islands, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and US;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)

• French public overseas broadcaster Reseau Outre-Mer provides 2 TV channels and 1 radio station;
• 1 government-owned TV station;
• a small number of privately owned radio stations (2019)

total:

2,590 km (1999)

paved:

1,735 km (1999)

unpaved:

855 km (1999)

total:

17

by type:

general cargo 8, other 9 (2018)