French Polynesia
|
| Basic Facts |
| 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 |
| Gevernment 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) |
| 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 |
| Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) |
| Internet country code | .pf |
| Ports and terminals | Papeete |
| Agriculture products | fish; coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products |
| Industries | tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates |
| Geography |
| Location | Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia |
| Coordinates | 15 00 S, 140 00 W |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Area |
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km water: 507 sq km |
| Boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 2,525 km |
| Climate | tropical, but moderate |
| Terrain | mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs |
| Natural resources | timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclonic storms in January |
| People |
| Population | 274,578 (July 2006 est.) |
| 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) |
