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.

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

slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

tropical, but moderate

mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

occasional cyclonic storms in January

includes five archipelagoes (four volcanic, one 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

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

French (official) 61.1%, Polynesian (official) 31.4%, Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)

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

274,512 (July 2012 est.)

15.92 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

4.76 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

PAPEETE (capital) 133,000 (2009)

2 children born/woman (2012 est.)

urban: 99% of population

rural: 97% of population

total: 98% of population

urban: 1% of population

rural: 3% of population

total: 2% of population

overseas lands of France; 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

parliamentary representive democratic French overseas collectivity

none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are five second order administrative units named Iles Australes, Iles du Vent, Iles Marquises, Iles Sous le Vent, Iles Tuamotu et Gambier

none (overseas lands of France)

Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day, 29 June (1880)

4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

the laws of France, where applicable, apply

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Assembly of French Polynesia or Assemblee de la Polynesia francaise (57 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN (includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours); New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api); Our Home alliance; People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira); Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira); Union for Democracy alliance or UPD

ITUC (NGOs), PIF (associate member), SPC, UPU

none (overseas lands of France)

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

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

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.

$4.718 billion (2004 est.)

$4.58 billion (2003 est.)

coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish

$211 million (2005 est.)

cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat

$1.706 billion (2005 est.)

fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment

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

725 million kWh (2009 est.)

674.3 million kWh (2009 est.)

140,000 kW (2009 est.)

66.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

33.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

8,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

7,246 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

1.221 million Mt (2010 est.)

the publicly-owned French Overseas Network (RFO), which operates in France's overseas departments and territories, broadcasts on 2 TV channels and 1 radio station; 1 government-owned TV station; a small number of privately-owned radio stations (2008)

no regular military forces (2011)

defense is the responsibility of France