French Polynesia

agricultural land:

12.5% (2018 est.)

arable land:

0.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

6.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

5.5% (2018 est.)

forest:

43.7% (2018 est.)

other:

43.8% (2018 est.)

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

total:

34.8 years (2023 est.)

male:

34.6 years

female:

35.1 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.95 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

5.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.4 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

78.7 years (2023 est.)

male:

76.4 years

female:

81.1 years

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

total:

38.9% (2021 est.)

male:

35.4%

female:

43.9%

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

agricultural land:

12.5% (2018 est.)

arable land:

0.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

6.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

5.5% (2018 est.)

forest:

43.7% (2018 est.)

other:

43.8% (2018 est.)

urban population:

62.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.65% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

147,000 tons (2013 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

57,330 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

39% (2013 est.)

• 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 Moetai BROTHERSON (since 12 May 2023)

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 court(s):

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

• I Love Polynesia (A here la Porinetia) [Nicole SANQUER]
• List of the People (Tapura Huiraatira) [Edouard FRITCH]
• People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]
• Rally of the Maohi People (Amuitahiraʻa o te Nunaʻa Maohi) [Gaston FLOSSE] (formerly known as Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira))

• 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)

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural); note - excerpted from the France entry

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Taputapuātea

• 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

• small, territorial-island tourism-based economy;
• large French financing;
• lower EU import duties;
• Pacific Islands Forum member;
• fairly resilient from COVID-19;
• oil-dependent infrastructure

agriculture:

13%

industry:

19%

services:

68% (2013 est.)

total:

38.9% (2021 est.)

male:

35.4%

female:

43.9%

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

6,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• French Polynesia has one of the most advanced telecoms infrastructures in the Pacific Islands region;
• the remoteness of the country with its scattering of 130 islands and atolls has made connectivity vital for its inhabitants;
• the first submarine cable was deployed in 2010 and since then additional cables have been connected to the islands, vastly improving French Polynesia’s international connectivity;
• an additional domestic submarine cable, the Natitua Sud, will connect more remote islands by the end of 2022;
• French Polynesia is also a hub for satellite communications in the region;
• a considerable number of consumers access FttP-based services;
• with the first data center in French Polynesia on the cards, the quality and price of broadband services is expected to improve as content will be able to be cached locally, reducing costs for consumers;
• for 2022, fixed broadband subscriptions reached an estimated 22%;
• about 43% of the country’s mobile connections are on 3G networks, while LTE accounts for 12%;
• by 2025, LTE is expected to account for more than half of all connections;
• it is also estimated that 77% of mobile subscribers will have smart phones by 2025 (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line subscriptions nearly 36 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular density is roughly 106 per 100 persons (2021)

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)