French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786.
Bora Bora is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. Bora Bora has a total land area of 30.55 km2 (12 sq mi). The main island, located about 230 kilometres northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano, rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu; the highest point is at 727 m (2,385 ft). Bora Bora is part of the Commune of Bora-Bora, which also includes the atoll of Tūpai. The languages spoken in Bora Bora are Tahitian and French. However, due to the high tourism population, many natives of Bora Bora have learned to speak English.
Taha’a is an island located among the western group, the Leeward Islands, of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Taha’a and neighboring Raiatea to the immediate south are enclosed by the same coral reef, and they may once have been a single island. At the 2017 census it had a population of 5,234. The island has an area of 90 square kilometres. Mount Ohiri is the highest mountain on the island standing at 590 metres (1,940 ft) above sea level. It is also known as the "Vanilla Island" and produces pearls of exceptional quality.
The Gambier Islands are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of 27.8 km2 or 10.7 sq mi, and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera along with islets on the surrounding fringing reef, and the uninhabited Temoe atoll, which is located 45 km south-east of the Mangareva Islands. The Gambiers are generally considered a separate island group from Tuamotu both because their culture and language (Mangarevan) are much more closely related to those of the Marquesas Islands, and because, while the Tuamotus comprise several chains of coral atolls, the Mangareva Islands are of volcanic origin with central high islands.
Hao, or Haorangi, is a large coral atoll in the central part of the Tuamotu Archipelago. It has c. 1000 people living on 35 km2 (14 sq mi). It was used to house the military support base for the nuclear tests on Mururoa. Because of its shape, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named it "Île de la Harpe".
The Leeward Islands are the western part of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. They lie south of the Line Islands, east of the Cooks and north of the Austral Islands. Their area is 395 km2 and their population is over 33,000.
Punaʻauia is a commune in the suburbs of Papeʻete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Punaʻauia is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. In the late 1890s, the French painter Paul Gauguin lived in Punaʻauia. Here he painted his masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?. The commune borders Faʻaʻā on the north and Pāʻea on the south.
Uturoa is a commune located in Raiatea, the largest island of the Îles Sous le Vent in French Polynesia. It is situated in between the administrative subdivision of Leeward Islands and the main port of the island of Raiatea. According to the 2017 census, Uturoa has a population of 3,778 individuals. The commune spans approximately 120 miles (193.121 km) northwest of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia.
Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located 550 km (340 mi) south of Tahiti and 150 km (93 mi) west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is 8.6 km2 (3.3 sq mi), and that of the Maria islets is 1.3 km2 (0.50 sq mi). Its highest point is 106 m (348 ft). Its population was 872 at the 2017 census.
Pāʻea is a commune in the suburbs of Papeʻete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Pāʻea is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. At the 2017 census it had a population of 13,021.
Arue is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Arue is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. At the 2017 census it had a population of 10,243.
Paparā is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Paparā is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. At the 2017 census it had a population of 11,680.
Moʻorea-Maiʻao is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands. At the 2017 census it had a population of 17,816.
Anaa, Nganaa-nui is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago, in French Polynesia. It is located in the north-west of the archipelago, 350 km to the east of Tahiti. It is oval in shape, 29.5 km in length and 6.5 km wide, with a total land area of 38 km2 and a population of 504. The atoll is made up by eleven small barren islands with deeper and more fertile soil than other atolls in the Tuamotus. The lagoon is shallow, without entrance, and formed by three main basins. Although it does not have any navigable access, the water of the lagoon renews by several small channels that can be crossed walking.
Makemo, Rangi-kemo or Te Paritua, is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia.
Maupiti is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands.
Arutua, or Ngaru-atua is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located 40 km SW of Rangiroa. The closest land is Apataki Atoll, only 16 km to the East.
Takaroa, Taka-roa or Takapua, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It has a length of 27.4 kilometres and a width of 7 km (4 mi); its land area is 20 square kilometres.
Nuku-Hiva is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands. Its population was 2,951 at the 2017 census.
Gambier is a commune of French Polynesia in the administrative subdivision of the Tuamotu-Gambier Islands. The commune includes the Gambier Islands as well as several atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago. All the Tuamotu atolls belonging to the commune are uninhabited except for Marutea Sud, and are sometimes mistakenly included among the Gambier Islands themselves. The commune population was 1,535 at the 2017 census. Its total land area is 45.97 km2.
