French Polynesia Geography Profile 2009

Location

Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about half way between South America and Australia

Geographic coordinates

15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map references

Oceania

Area

total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,827 sq km
water: 340 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

2,525 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical, but moderate

Terrain

mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources

timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 0.75%
permanent crops: 5.5%
other: 93.75% (2005)

Irrigated land

10 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards

occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues

NA

Geography - note

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