French Polynesia (2004) | Reunion (2005) | |
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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 |
none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 37,372; female 35,818)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 92,594; female 85,455) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 7,616; female 7,484) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits; poultry, beef, dairy products, coffee | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 49 (2003 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 37
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km water: 507 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 17.34 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $900 million, including capital expenditures of $185 million (1996) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
Capital | Papeete | Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical, but moderate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 2,525 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | 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 former: French Colony of Oceania |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) | - |
Death rate | 4.58 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1946 | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $367 million (1997) | NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 398.3 million kWh (2001) | 1.084 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 428.3 million kWh (2001) | 1.166 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 105.73 (2003), 126.72 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000), 111.93 (1999)
note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Michel MATHIEU (since 24 October 2001)
head of government: President of the Territorial Government of French Polynesia Gaston FLOSSE (since 9 October 2004); President of the Territorial Assembly Lucette TAERO (since 17 May 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Government and the president of the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | France 66.3%, Japan 16.1%, US 9.1% (2003) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.58 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 18% services: 76% (1997) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 S, 140 00 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
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 | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 2,590 km
paved: 1,735 km unpaved: 855 km (1999) |
total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 59.9%, Australia 11.9%, New Zealand 6%, US 6% (2003) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WMO | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 70,000 (1996) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 19%, services 68% (1997) | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.82%
permanent crops: 5.46% other: 93.72% (2001) |
arable land: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Tahitian (official) | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on French system | French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (57 seats - changed from 49 seats for May 2004 election; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held NA May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Union for Democracy 27, New Star 1, This Country is Yours 1 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on NA September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.67 years
male: 73.29 years female: 78.18 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 14 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1977 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from South America to Australia | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Oceania | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 17,537 GRT/15,150 DWT
by type: cargo 3, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: French Polynesian(s)
adjective: French Polynesian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclonic storms in January | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; The New Star (Te Fetia Api) [Philippe SHYLE]; This Country is Yours (No Oe E Te Nunaa) [Nicle BOUTEAU]; Union for Democracy or UPD [Oscar TEMARU] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 266,339 (July 2004 est.) | 776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.57% (2004 est.) | 1.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mataura, Papeete, Rikitea, Uturoa | Le Port |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 52,500 (2002) | 300,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 90,000 (2002) | 489,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 17 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.09 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (1994) | 36% (1999 est.) |