World Factbook
French Polynesia
Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynésie française
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
3,827 sq km
water
340 sq km
total
4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls; 67 are inhabited)
Climate
tropical, but moderate
Terrain
mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
Land use
other
48.3% (2023 est.)
forest
43.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
8.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 0.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 7.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0.5% (2023 est.)
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
Coastline
2,525 km
Elevation
lowest point
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point
Mont Orohena 2,241 m
Irrigated land
10 sq km (2012)
Map references
Oceania
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
occasional cyclonic storms in January
Geography - note
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
Natural resources
timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower
Area - comparative
slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
Geographic coordinates
15 00 S, 140 00 W
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