Country name:
conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia
conventional short form: French Polynesia
local long form: Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynesie Francaise
local short form: Polynesie Francaise
former: French Colony of Oceania
etymology: the term "Polynesia" is an 18th-century construct composed of two Greek words, "poly" (many) and "nesoi" (islands), and refers to the more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean

Dependency status:
overseas lands of France; overseas territory of France from 1946-2003; overseas collectivity of France since 2003, though it is often referred to as an overseas country due to its degree of autonomy

Government type:
parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity

Capital:
name: Papeete (located on Tahiti)
geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W
time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 5 second order administrative units named Iles Australes, Iles du Vent, Iles Marquises, Iles Sous le Vent, Iles Tuamotu et Gambier

Independence:
none (overseas lands of France)

National holiday:
Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1789); note - the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day, 29 June (1880)

Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Citizenship:
see France

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE (since 15 May 2012), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Lionel BEFFRE (since 16 September 2013)
head of government: President of French Polynesia Edouard FRITCH (since 12 September 2014)
cabinet: Council of Ministers approved by the Assembly from a list of its members submitted by the president
elections/appointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; French Polynesia president indirectly elected by Assembly of French Polynesia for a 5-year term (no term limits)

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Assembly of French Polynesia or Assemblee de la Polynesie Francaise (57 seats; elections held in two rounds; in the second round, 38 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; the party receiving the most votes get an additional 19 seats; to serve 5-year terms)
note: two seats were elected to the French Senate for a 6-year term on 20 September 2014 (next to be held in September 2022); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Popular Rally 1, People's Servant Party 1; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly for a 5-year term on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2; note - the UMP is France's ruling pary, the Union for a Popular Movement
elections: last held on 21 April 2013 and 5 May 2013 (next to be held in 2018)
election results: percent of vote by party - Popular Rally 45.1%, UPD 29.3%, A Tia Porinetia 25.6%; seats by party - Popular Rally 38, UPD 11, A Tia Porinetia 8

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel (composition NA); note - appeals beyond the French Polynesia Court of Appeal are heard by the Court of Cassation (in Paris)
judge selection and term of office: NA
subordinate courts: Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

Political parties and leaders:
A Tia Porinetia [Teva ROHFRITSCH] Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN (includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours) New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON] Our Home alliance People's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU] Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE] Union for Democracy alliance or UPD [Oscar TEMARU]

International organization participation:
ITUC (NGOs), PIF (associate member), SPC, UPU, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas lands of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas lands of France)

Flag description:
two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half; a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern; the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors
note: similar to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti, the largest of the islands in French Polynesia, which has no emblem in the white band; the flag of France is used for official occasions

National symbol(s):
outrigger canoe; national colors: red, white

National anthem:
name: "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" (Long Live Tahiti Nui)
lyrics/music: Maeva BOUGES, Irmine TEHEI, Angele TEROROTUA, Johanna NOUVEAU, Patrick AMARU, Louis MAMATUI, and Jean-Pierre CELESTIN (the compositional group created both the lyrics and music)
note: adopted 1993; serves as a local anthem; as a territory of France, "La Marseillaise" is official (see France)

Government - note:
under certain acts of France, French Polynesia has acquired autonomy in all areas except those relating to police and justice, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and foreign affairs; the duties of its president are fashioned after those of the French prime minister