French Polynesia - PF - PYF - Australia and Oceania

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

embassy: none (overseas lands of France)

0-14 years: 20.3% (male 31,659/female 30,006)

15-64 years: 68.7% (male 107,162/female 101,228)

65 years and over: 11% (2024 est.) (male 16,317/female 17,168)

15 00 S, 140 00 W

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 (2024 est.)

occasional cyclonic storms in January

slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

French Polynesia consists of five archipelagos -- the Austral Islands, the Gambier Islands, the Marquesas Islands, the Society Islands, and the Tuamotu Archipelago. The Marquesas were first settled around 200 B.C. and the Society Islands around A.D. 300. Raiatea in the Society Islands became a center for religion and culture. Exploration of the other islands emanated from Raiatea, and by 1000, there were small permanent settlements in all the island groups. Ferdinand MAGELLAN was the first European to see the islands of French Polynesia in 1520. In 1767, British explorer Samuel WALLIS was the first European to visit Tahiti, followed by French navigator Louis Antoine de BOUGAINVILLE in 1768 and British explorer James COOK in 1769. King POMARE I united Tahiti and surrounding islands into the Kingdom of Tahiti in 1788. Protestant missionaries arrived in 1797, and POMARE I’s successor converted in the 1810s, along with most Tahitians. In the 1830s, Queen POMARE IV refused to allow French Catholic missionaries to operate, leading France to declare a protectorate over Tahiti and fight the French-Tahitian War of the 1840s in an attempt to annex the islands. 

In 1880, King POMARE V ceded Tahiti and its possessions to France, changing its status into a colony. France then claimed the Gambier Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago and by 1901 had incorporated all five island groups into its establishments in Oceania. A Tahitian nationalist movement formed in 1940, leading France to grant French citizenship to the islanders in 1946 and change it to an overseas territory. In 1957, the islands’ name was changed to French Polynesia, and the following year, 64% of voters chose to stay part of France when they approved a new constitution. Uninhabited Mururoa Atoll was established as a French nuclear test site in 1962, and tests were conducted between 1966 and 1992 (underground beginning in 1975). France also conducted tests at Fangataufa Atoll, including its last nuclear test in 1996.

France granted French Polynesia partial internal autonomy in 1977 and expanded autonomy in 1984. French Polynesia was converted into an overseas collectivity in 2003 and renamed an overseas territory in 2004. Pro-independence politicians won a surprise majority in local elections that same year, but in subsequent elections, they have been relegated to a vocal minority. In 2013, French Polynesia was relisted on the UN List of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

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

pearls, fish, aircraft parts, gas turbines, vanilla (2023)

note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Japan 44%, USA 15%, France 12%, Netherlands 9%, China 5% (2023)

note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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 Société)

coconuts, fruits, cassava, sugarcane, pineapples, eggs, tropical fruits, watermelons, tomatoes, pork (2023)

note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

no regular military forces

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

cars, packaged medicine, refined petroleum, poultry, broadcasting equipment (2023)

note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

tropical, but moderate

2,525 km

history: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

amendment process: French constitution amendment procedures apply

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
110.347 (2023 est.)
113.474 (2022 est.)
100.88 (2021 est.)
104.711 (2020 est.)
106.589 (2019 est.)

chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Eric SPITZ (since 23 September 2022)

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)

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

total: 2,590 km

paved: 1,735 km

unpaved: 855 km (1999)

none (overseas land of France)

tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

highest court(s): Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel (composition NA)

judge selection and term of office: judges assigned from France for 3 years

subordinate courts: Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Première Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

note: appeals beyond the French Polynesia Court of Appeal are heard by the Court of Cassation (in Paris)

total: 0 km

agricultural land: 14% (2022 est.)

arable land: 0.7% (2022 est.)

permanent crops: 7.5% (2022 est.)

permanent pasture: 5.8% (2022 est.)

forest: 43.1% (2022 est.)

other: 43% (2022 est.)

the laws of France, where applicable, apply

legislature name: Assembly of French Polynesia (Assemblée de la Polynésie française)

legislative structure: unicameral

number of seats: 57 (directly elected)

electoral system: proportional representation

scope of elections: full renewal

term in office: 5 years

most recent election date: 4/30/2023

parties elected and seats per party: People's Servant People (38); List of the People (15); I Love Polynesia (3); Rally of the Mahoi People (1)

percentage of women in chamber: 49.1%

expected date of next election: 2028

note 1: elections held in two rounds; in the second round, 38 members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by a closed-list proportional representation vote; the party receiving the most votes gets an additional 19 seats

note 2: French Polynesia indirectly elects 2 senators to the French Senate for 6-year terms with one-half the membership renewed every 3 years and directly elects 3 deputies to the French National Assembly for 5-year terms

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

ITUC (NGOs), PIF, SPC, UPU, WMO

Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790); note - the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day, 29 June (1880)

noun: French Polynesian(s)

adjective: French Polynesian

timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

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

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

I Love Polynesia (A here la Porinetia) 
List of the People (Tapura Huiraatira) 
People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira) 
Rally of the Maohi People (Amuitahiraʻa o te Nunaʻa Maohi) (formerly known as Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira))

18 years of age; universal

general assessment: French Polynesia has one of the most advanced telecoms infrastructures in the Pacific Islands region; the remoteness of the territory 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 territory’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)

mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

parliamentary democracy (Assembly of French Polynesia); an overseas collectivity of France

defense is the responsibility of France, and it maintains a military garrison in French Polynesia (Forces Armées en Polynésie Française, FAPF)

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

conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia

conventional short form: French Polynesia

local long form: Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynésie française

local short form: Polynésie Française

former: Establishments in Oceania, French Establishments in Oceania

etymology: the term "Polynesia" is an 18th-century construct composed of two Greek words, poly (many) and nesoi (islands), and refers to the more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean

Oceania, five archipelagoes (Archipel des Tuamotu, Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between South America and Australia

Oceania

10 sq km (2012)

none (overseas lands of France)

percent of population: 73% (2017 est.)

.pf

$5.815 billion (2022 est.)

note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate

urban population: 62.3% of total population (2023)

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

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)

improved:

urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 100% of population

unimproved:

urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

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)

136,000 PAPEETE (capital) (2018)

0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

outrigger canoe, Tahitian gardenia (Gardenia taitensis) flower; national colors: red, white

household consumption: 71.5% (2022 est.)

government consumption: 31.7% (2022 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 21.8% (2022 est.)

investment in inventories: 0% (2022 est.)

exports of goods and services: 21.1% (2022 est.)

imports of goods and services: -46.1% (2022 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

total dependency ratio: 45.6

youth dependency ratio: 31.6

elderly dependency ratio: 14

potential support ratio: 7.1 (2021 est.)

see France

the majority of the population lives in the Society Islands, one of five archipelagos that includes the most populous island - Tahiti - with approximately 70% of the nation's population

electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)

number of registered air carriers: 2 (2020) (registered in France)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 19 (registered in France)

F-OH

improved:

urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 97% of population

unimproved:

urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 3% of population (2020 est.)

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

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

French (official) 73.5%, Tahitian 20.1%, Marquesan 2.6%, Austral languages 1.2%, Paumotu 1%, other 1.6% (2017 est.)

major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

France 26%, China 11%, USA 10%, NZ 7%, Malaysia 4% (2023)

note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

NA

total population: NA

male: NA

female: NA

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.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.77 megatons (2016 est.)

total World Heritage Sites: 2 (1 cultural, 1 mixed); note - excerpted from the France entry

selected World Heritage Site locales: Taputapuātea (c); Te Henua Enata – The Marquesas Islands (m)

imports: 1 metric tons (2023 est.)

fossil fuels: 66% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

solar: 7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

hydroelectricity: 27% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption: 7,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

0.87 (2024 est.)

27.2% (2023 est.)

10% of GDP (2022 est.)
9.46% of GDP (2021 est.)
10.04% of GDP (2020 est.)

note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

total ports: 6 (2024)

large: 0

medium: 0

small: 1

very small: 5

ports with oil terminals: 1

key ports: Atuona, Baie Taiohae, Papeete, Port Rikitea, Uturoa, Vaitape

127,000 (2023 est.)

note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

total: 37.3% (2023 est.)

male: 33.8% (2023 est.)

female: 42% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

total: 35.3 years (2024 est.)

male: 35 years

female: 35.6 years

1.79 children born/woman (2024 est.)

11.72% (2023 est.)
11.91% (2022 est.)
12.49% (2021 est.)

note: % of labor force seeking employment

total: 303,540 (2024 est.)

male: 155,138

female: 148,402

1.01 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

from petroleum and other liquids: 1.01 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

total : 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls; 67 are inhabited)

land: 3,827 sq km

water: 340 sq km

$5.65 billion (2021 est.)
$5.52 billion (2020 est.)
$5.94 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2015 dollars

54 (2025)

total: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births

total subscriptions: 328,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (2022 est.)

0% (2015 est.)
0.3% (2014 est.)

$411.963 million (2016 est.)
$291.182 million (2015 est.)
$264.32 million (2014 est.)

note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

$18,600 (2021 est.)
$18,300 (2020 est.)
$19,800 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2015 dollars

total: 78,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 28 (2022 est.)

(2019)

5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

13 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

installed generating capacity: 345,000 kW (2023 est.)

consumption: 669.5 million kWh (2023 est.)

transmission/distribution losses: 42.663 million kWh (2023 est.)

total: 24 (2023)

by type: general cargo 14

NA

$1.66 billion (2021 est.)
$1.75 billion (2020 est.)
$2.24 billion (2019 est.)

note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

$162 million (2021 est.)
$94.4 million (2020 est.)
$184 million (2019 est.)

note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

total subscriptions: 139,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 50 (2022 est.)

total population: 78.9 years (2024 est.)

male: 76.6 years

female: 81.3 years

4.47% (2022 est.)
2.09% (2021 est.)
-7.05% (2020 est.)

note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

4.3% (2014 est.)

note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

agriculture: 2.3% (2019 est.)

industry: 10.7% (2019 est.)

services: 76.2% (2019 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

NA

0.66% (2024 est.)