Wallis and Futuna

Airports

2 total; 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Highways

100 km on Ile Uvea, 16 km sealed; 20 km earth surface on Ile Futuna

Inland waterways

none

Ports

Mata-Utu, Leava

Telecommunications

225 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV

Note

defense is the responsibility of France

Agriculture

dominated by coconut production, with subsistence crops of yams, taro, bananas, and herds of pigs and goats

Budget

revenues $2.7 million; expenditures $2.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1983)

Currency

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (plural--francs); 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $118 million

Electricity

1,200 kW capacity; 1 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1--93.28 (January 1991), 99.0 (1990), 115.99 (1989), 108.30 (1988), 109.27 (1987), 125.92 (1986), 163.35 (1985); note--linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc

Exports

negligible; commodities--copra, handicrafts; partners--NA

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

NA

GDP

$7.5 million, per capita $470; real growth rate NA% (1990 est.)

Imports

$6.9 million (c.i.f., 1983); commodities--foodstuffs, manufactured goods, transportation equipment, fuel; partners--France, Australia, New Zealand

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Overview

The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning its livelihood from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia. Wallis and Futuna imports food, fuel, clothing, machinery, and transport equipment, but its exports are negligible, consisting of copra and handicrafts.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October)

Coastline

129 km Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Comparative area

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Environment

both island groups have fringing reefs

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 5%; permanent crops 20%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 75%

Natural resources

negligible

Note

located 4,600 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Terrain

volcanic origin; low hills

Total area

274 km2; land area: 274 km2; includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets

Administrative divisions

none (overseas territory of France)

Capital

Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)

Constitution

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Diplomatic representation

as an overseas territory of France, local interests are represented in the US by France

Executive branch

French president, high administrator; note--there are three traditional kings with limited powers

Flag

the flag of France is used

Independence

none (overseas territory of France)

Judicial branch

none; justice generally administered under French law by the chief administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); Head of Government--Chief Administrator Roger DUMEC (since 15 July 1988) Rally for the Republic (RPR); Union Populaire Locale (UPL); Union Pour la Democratie Francaise (UDF); Lua kae tahi (Giscardians); Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche (MRG)

Legal system

French

Legislative branch

unicameral Territorial Assembly (Assemblee Territoriale)

Long-form name

Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands

Member of

FZ, SPC

National holiday

Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18 Territorial Assembly--last held 15 March 1987 (next to be held March 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(20 total) RPR 7, UPL 6, UDF and Lua kae tahi 7; French Senate--last held NA September 1989 (next to be held by September 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(1 total) RPR 1; French National Assembly--last held 12 June 1988 (next to be held by September 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(1 total) MRG 1

Type

overseas territory of France

Birth rate

28 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

almost entirely Polynesian

Infant mortality rate

30 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Labor force

NA

Language

French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 71 years female (1991)

Literacy

50% (male 50%, female 51%) at all ages can read and write (1969)

Nationality

noun--Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders; adjective--Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander

Net migration rate

8 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

NA

Population

16,590 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)

Religion

largely Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

3.7 children born/woman (1991)