@node Header (French Polynesia) @section Header (French Polynesia) @display Affiliation: (overseas territory of France) @end display @node Geography (French Polynesia) @section Geography (French Polynesia) @display Location: Oceania, halfway between Australia and South America Map references: Oceania Area: total area: 3,941 km2 land area: 3,660 km2 comparative area: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 2,525 km Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: tropical, but moderate Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 19% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 31% other: 44% Irrigated land: NA km2 Environment: occasional cyclonic storm in January; includes five archipelagoes Note: 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 @end display @node People (French Polynesia) @section People (French Polynesia) @display Population: 210,333 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 2.26% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 27.89 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.33 years male: 67.95 years female: 72.84 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.32 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: French Polynesian(s) adjective: French Polynesian Ethnic divisions: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% Religions: Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 16% Languages: French (official), Tahitian (official) Literacy: age 14 and over but definition of literacy not available (1977) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% Labor force: 76,630 employed (1988) @end display @node Government (French Polynesia) @section Government (French Polynesia) @display Names: conventional long form: Territory of French Polynesia conventional short form: French Polynesia local long form: Territoire de la Polynesie Francaise local short form: Polynesie Francaise Digraph: FP Type: overseas territory of France since 1946 Capital: Papeete Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 5 archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, and Iles Sous-le-Vent note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia Independence: none (overseas territory of France) Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) Legal system: based on French system National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789) Political parties and leaders: People's Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira; Gaullist), Gaston FLOSSE; Polynesian Union Party (Te Tiarama; centrist), Alexandre LEONTIEFF; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api), Emile VERNAUDON; Polynesian Liberation Front (Tavini Huiraatira), Oscar TEMARU; other small parties Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: French National Assembly: last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held 21 and 28 March 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) People's Rally (Gaullist) 1, New Fatherland Party 1 French Senate: last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) party NA Territorial Assembly: last held 17 March 1991 (next to be held March 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (41 total) People's Rally (Gaullist) 18, Polynesian Union Party 14, New Fatherland Party 5, other 4 Executive branch: French president, high commissioner of the republic, president of the Council of Ministers, vice president of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, Court of the First Instance, Court of Administrative Law @end display @node Government (French Polynesia 2. usage) @section Government (French Polynesia 2. usage) @display Leaders: Chief of State: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); High Commissioner of the Republic Michel JAU (since NA 1992) Head of Government: President of the Council of Ministers Gaston FLOSSE (since 10 May 1991); Vice President of the Council of Ministers Joel BUILLARD (since 12 September 1991) Member of: ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WMO Diplomatic representation in US: as an overseas territory of France, French Polynesian interests are represented in the US by France US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France) Flag: the flag of France is used @end display @node Economy (French Polynesia) @section Economy (French Polynesia) @display Overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for about 20% of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.2 billion (1991 est.) National product real growth rate: NA% National product per capita: $6,000 (1991 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1989) Unemployment rate: 14.9% (1988 est.) Budget: revenues $614 million; expenditures $957 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988) Exports: $88.9 million (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: coconut products 79%, mother-of-pearl 14%, vanilla, shark meat partners: France 54%, US 17%, Japan 17% Imports: $765 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, equipment partners: France 53%, US 11%, Australia 6%, NZ 5% External debt: $NA Industrial production: growth rate NA% Electricity: 75,000 kW capacity; 275 million kWh produced, 1,330 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts Agriculture: coconut and vanilla plantations; vegetables and fruit; poultry, beef, dairy products Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $3.95 billion Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 99.65 (January 1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00 (1990), 115.99 (1989), 108.30 (1988); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc Fiscal year: calendar year @end display @node Communications (French Polynesia) @section Communications (French Polynesia) @display Highways: 600 km (1982) Ports: Papeete, Bora-bora Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,127 GRT/6,710 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo; note - a captive subset of the French register Airports: total: 43 usable: 41 with permanent-surface runways: 23 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 12 Telecommunications: 33,200 telephones; 84,000 radio receivers; 26,400 TV sets; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 2 FM, 6 TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station @end display @node Defense Forces (French Polynesia) @section Defense Forces (French Polynesia) @display Branches: French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie Note: defense is responsibility of France @end display