French Polynesia

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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. <br><br>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.<br><br>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.

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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

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15 00 S, 140 00 W

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Oceania

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slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

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2,525 km

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tropical, but moderate

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mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

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timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

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10 sq km (2012)

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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

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occasional cyclonic storms in January

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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

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

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

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0.63% (2025 est.)

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12.7 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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5.84 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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-0.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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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

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136,000 PAPEETE (capital) (2018)

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1.78 children born/woman (2025 est.)

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0.87 (2025 est.)

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0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

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66.8% (2017 est.)

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sea-level rise; cyclones, storms, and tsunamis producing floods, landslides, erosion, and reef damage; droughts; fresh water scarcity

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tropical, but moderate

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

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overseas country of France

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<strong>note:</strong> overseas territory of France from 1946-2003; overseas collectivity of France since 2003, but it is often referred to as an overseas country due to its degree of autonomy

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5 administrative subdivisions (<em>subdivisions administratives</em>, singular - <em>subdivision administrative</em>): Iles Australes (Austral Islands), Iles du Vent (Windward Islands), Iles Marquises (Marquesas Islands), Iles Sous-le-Vent (Leeward Islands), Iles Tuamotu-Gambier

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<strong>note:</strong> the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands together make up the Society Islands (Iles de la Société)

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the laws of France apply

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see France

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18 years of age; universal

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<strong>note 1:</strong> 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<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> 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

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

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

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none (overseas lands of France)

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

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none (overseas land of France)

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Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790)

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<strong>note 1:</strong> the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day, 29 June (1880)<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, France's national celebration commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789 and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are <em>la Fête nationale</em> (National Holiday) and <em>le Quatorze Juillet</em> (14th of July)

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<strong>description:</strong> two horizontal red bands flank 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 stylized  red Polynesian canoe on the disk has a crew of five, represented by five stars <br><br><strong>meaning: </strong>the stars symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors

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<strong>note 1:</strong> similar to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti, the largest and most populous of the French Polynesian islands, but the Tahitian flag has no emblem on the white band<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the flag of France is used for official occasions

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outrigger canoe, Tahitian gardenia flower (<em>Gardenia taitensis</em>)

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red, white

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French Polynesia has acquired autonomy from France in all areas except those relating to police, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and foreign affairs; the duties of its president are similar to those of the French prime minister

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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

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<strong>note:</strong> data in 2015 dollars

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<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

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<strong>note:</strong> data in 2015 dollars

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$6.563 billion (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

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<strong>note:</strong> annual % change based on consumer prices

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

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

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

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<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

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tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

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119,100 (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force seeking employment

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

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

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

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

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

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<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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

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<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

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

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<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

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

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<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

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

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.pf

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F-OH

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54 (2025)

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no regular military forces

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defense is the responsibility of France, and it maintains a military garrison in French Polynesia (Forces Arm&eacute;es en Polyn&eacute;sie Fran&ccedil;aise, FAPF)