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French Polynesia

Population (2000): 249,000 (more than half on Tahiti)
Languages: French (official), Tahitian (official)
Government: Overseas territory of France
Land area: 1,550 square miles (4,000 square kilometers) on 130 islands in five archipelagoes
Major industries: tourism, aquaculture (pearls, oysters), food processing, handicrafts, agriculture (coconuts, vanilla, subsistence farming), fishing
Major exports: cultured pearls (50 percent), coconut products, vanilla, shark meat
Gross Domestic Product (1997): $2.6 billion
GDP per capita (1997): $10,800
Life expectancy (2000): 72.5 years (males); 77.2 years (females)

Sources: World Almanac, CIA World Factbook, Encyclopedia Britannica, individual countries. All figures are estimates; monetary figures are in U.S. dollars.

 
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