| French Polynesia |
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Map:
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| 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 and Environmental |
Capital: name: Papeete
geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W
time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls) |
| Area Land: 3,660 sq km |
| Area Water: 507 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut |
| Coastline: 2,525 km |
| Climate: tropical, but moderate |
| Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m |
| Natural Resources: timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower |
| Land Use Arable Land: 0.75% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 5.5% |
| Land Use 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 |
| Population |
| Population: 278,963 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 25.4% (male 36,223/female 34,677) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 68.2% (male 98,784/female 91,585) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 6.3% (male 8,933/female 8,761) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 28.3 years |
| Median Age Male: 28.6 years |
| Median Age Female: 28 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 1.461% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 16.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.045 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.079 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 1.02 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.066 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 7.84 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 9.01 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 6.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 76.31 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 73.88 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 78.86 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.98 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 98% |
| Literacy Male: 98% |
| Literacy Female: 98% (1977 est.) |
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 |
| Legal System: based on French system |
| 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 Real Growth Rate: 5.1% (2002) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 3.1% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 19% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 76.9% (2005) |
| Labor Force: 65,930 (December 2005) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 13%
industry: 19%
services: 68% (2002) |
| Unemployment Rate: 11.7% (2005) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 1.1% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: NA% |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 607 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 60.7% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 39.3% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 533 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 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) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 53,400 (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 87,000 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: NA |
| Telephone System Domestic: NA |
| Telephone System 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 repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: 40,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 2 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 55,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 51 (2006) |
| Disputes International: none |