French Polynesia - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of French Polynesia. Includes five archipelagoes: four volcanic (Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) and one coral (Archipel des Tuamotu); the Tuamotu Archipelago forms the largest group of atolls in the world -- 78 in total, 48 inhabited; Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean -- the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is

Geographical data of French Polynesia
Location Oceania, five archipelagoes (Archipel des Tuamotu, Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between South America and Australia
Geographic coordinates 15 00 S, 140 00 W
Map references Oceania
Tarrain mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
Natural Resources timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower
Natural Hazards occasional cyclonic storms in January
Irrigated Land 10 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 0 km
Border Countries
Coastline 2,525 km
Climate tropical, but moderate
Area
Total Area
Land Area 3,827 sq km
Water Area 340 sq km
comparative Area slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Mont Orohena 2,241 m
Lowest point Pacific Ocean 0 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 14% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 0.7% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 7.5% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 5.8% (2022 est.)
Forest 43.1% (2022 est.)
Other 43% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

The majority of the population lives in the Society Islands, one of five archipelagos that includes the most populous island, Tahiti, with approximately 70% of the nation's population

People and Society

In French Polynesia, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4%

Population
Pop growth rate 0.66% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 13 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 1.79 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.87 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 27.2% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality French Polynesian | French Polynesian(s)
Languages
Religions Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6%
Age Structure
0-14 years 20.3% (male 31,659/female 30,006)
15-64 years 68.7% (male 107,162/female 101,228)
65 years and over 11% (2024 est.) (male 16,317/female 17,168)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 45.7 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 29.6 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 16.1 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 6.2 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 35.3 years (2024 est.)
Male 35 years
Female 35.6 years
Urbanization
Urban population 62.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 0.65% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 136,000 PAPEETE (capital) (2018).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.95 male(s)/female
Total population 1.05 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 78.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 76.6 years
Female 81.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: total total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: total total: 97% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 3% of population (2022 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about French Polynesia

Want to know more about French Polynesia? Check all different factbooks for French Polynesia below.

French Polynesia is found in Polynesia