French Polynesia Country Info - Oceania

Description and Basic Information

French Polynesia with its capital Papeete is located in Oceania (Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about half way between South America and Australia). It covers some 4,168 square kilometres (slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut) with 270,485 citizens. French and Tahitian are the the official languages used in French Polynesia.

French Polynesia is a set of islands that is an overseas country attached to France. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, it is halfway between California and Australia. Summer is from November through April, with a warmer and more humid climate and winter is from May through October, when the climate is slightly cooler and drier. When you step out of the airplane, you'll immediately notice that the air is warm and humid. Be aware that everything is very expensive in French Polynesia. Even budget accommodation is tough on the budget, as is food, even groceries. So if you visit, take lots of money, you will need it.

Pictures from Capital (Papeete)

Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners.

About French Polynesia

The landscape features mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs. The average density of population is about 64 per km². The climate in French Polynesia can be described as tropical, but moderate. Potential threats by nature are occasional cyclonic storms in January.

To reach someone in French Polynesia dial +689 prior to a number. There are 54,300 installed telephones. And there are 208,300 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks operate on frequencies of 900 Mhz. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".pf". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery charger), keep in mind the local 220V - 50Hz. The following list are the 5 regions/states in French Polynesia we know off.

Demographic Statistics

In the year 2010, the total French Polynesian population grew at a rate of 1.36% (or by 3,946 citizens). With 1,397 deaths and 4,560 babies born, the natural increase rate lies at 1.09%. 783 persons more in total immigrated to the country than emmigrated.

An overview of age distribution in French Polynesia: Each pair of bars represents a single age group (male/female). Each group is spanning 5 years. E.g. 0 to 5 years, 5 to 10 etc. and group "0 to 5" being at the left end and "100 +" at the right end of the chart.

Based on content from wikitravel.org. The original article can be found here based on the work of these users.
Geographic information is based on the data provided by geonames.org, CIA factsbook and Unesco.