French Polynesia Fact File
 

Introduction

French Polynesia
Background:

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.

Geography

French Polynesia
Location:

Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km
water: 507 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

2,525 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical, but moderate

Terrain:

mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources:

timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 0.75%
permanent crops: 5.5%
other: 93.75% (2005)

Irrigated land:

10 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues:

NA

Geography - note:

includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 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

People

French Polynesia
Population:

274,578 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 26.1% (male 36,541/female 34,999)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 96,769/female 89,593)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 8,428/female 8,248) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 27.9 years
male: 28.2 years
female: 27.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.48% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

16.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 8.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 76.1 years
male: 73.69 years
female: 78.63 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.01 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: French Polynesian(s)
adjective: French Polynesian

Ethnic groups:

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

Religions:

Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6%

Languages:

French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)

Literacy:

definition: age 14 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1977 est.)

Government

French Polynesia
Country name:

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

Dependency status:

overseas lands of France; overseas territory of France from 1946-2004

Government type:

NA

Capital:

Papeete

Administrative divisions:

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

Independence:

none (overseas lands of France)

National holiday:

Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:

4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:

based on French system

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Anne BOQUET (since September 2005)
head of government: President of the Territorial Government of French Polynesia Oscar TEMARU (since 3 March 2005); President of the Territorial Assembly Antony GEROS (since 9 May 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers
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 Territorial Government and the president of the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly

Legislative branch:

unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (57 seats - changed from 49 seats for May 2004 election; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Union for Democracy 27, New Star 1, This Country is Yours 1; after by-elections of 13 February 2005 seating was as follows: People's Rally for the Republic 27, Union for Democracy 27, and Alliance for a New Democracy 3
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1

Judicial branch:

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN [Nicole BOUTEAU]; Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; The New Star (Te Fetia Api) [Philippe SHYLE]; This Country is Yours (No Oe E Te Nunaa) [Nicle BOUTEAU]; Union for Democracy or UPD [Oscar TEMARU]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none (overseas lands of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

none (overseas lands of France)

Flag description:

two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band; centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the upper half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions

Economy

French Polynesia
Economy - overview:

Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits substantially from development agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social services.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$4.58 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

NA

GDP - real growth rate:

NA% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$17,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 6%
industry: 18%
services: 76% (2002)

Labor force:

70,000 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 13%
industry: 19%
services: 68% (2002)

Unemployment rate:

11.8% (1994)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

1.5% (2002 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $900 million; including capital expenditures of $185 million (1996)

Agriculture - products:

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

Industries:

tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

493.7 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 60.7%
hydro: 39.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

459.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:

4,800 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:

NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:

$385 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:

cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat

Exports - partners:

France 36.6%, Japan 22.7%, US 16.1%, Niger 13%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)

Imports:

$1.437 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:

fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment

Imports - partners:

France 46.9%, NZ 9%, Singapore 8.5%, Australia 8.5%, US 7.2% (2004)

Debt - external:

$NA

Economic aid - recipient:

$367 million (1997)

Currency (code):

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)

Currency code:

XPF

Exchange rates:

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001)
note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

French Polynesia
Telephones - main lines in use:

53,300 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

90,000 (2002)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:

128,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

7 (plus 17 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:

40,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.pf

Internet hosts:

6,151 (2005)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

2 (2000)

Internet users:

61,000 (2005)

Transportation

French Polynesia
Airports:

50 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 37
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 7 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 8 (2005)

Heliports:

1 (2005)

Roadways:

total: 2,590 km
paved: 1,735 km
unpaved: 855 km (1999)

Merchant marine:

total: 15 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,109 GRT/17,158 DWT
by type: cargo 4, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:

Papeete

Military

French Polynesia
Military branches:

no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force

Manpower available for military service:

males age 18-49: 69,679 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 18-49: 55,305 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:

males age 18-49: 2,747 (2005 est.)

Military - note:

defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues

French Polynesia
Disputes - international:

none

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