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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. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.

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: | name: Papeete geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 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 for five-year terms (no term limits)
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 and Philip SCHYLE](includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours); 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]; 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
Government - note: | 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

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: 3.1% industry: 19% services: 76.9% (2002)
Labor force: | 65,870 (December 2005)
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): | 1.1% (2006 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $865 million expenditures: $644.1 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: | $211 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat
Exports - partners: | France 46.3%, Japan 20.8%, Niger 12.8%, US 12.5% (2005)
Imports: | $1.706 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners: | France 52.7%, Singapore 14.9%, NZ 6.8%, US 6.6% (2005)
Debt - external: | $NA
Economic aid - recipient: | $580 million (2004)
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: | 53,400 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 87,000 (2005)
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: | 14,047 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000)
Internet users: | 55,000 (2005)

Transportation | French Polynesia

Airports: | 51 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 39 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Heliports: | 1 (2006)
Roadways: | total: 2,590 km paved: 1,735 km unpaved: 855 km (1999)
Merchant marine: | total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,684 GRT/17,291 DWT by type: cargo 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Wallis and Futuna 2) (2006)
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

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006