| 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 |
| Area | total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls; 67 are inhabited) land: 3,827 sq km water: 340 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut |
| Land boundaries | total: 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 | highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Natural resources | timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 12.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 6.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 5.5% (2018 est.) forest: 43.7% (2018 est.) other: 43.8% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2012) |
| 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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
