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)
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 3,827 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 340 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 175

Area - comparative:
slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
2,525 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical, but moderate
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources:
timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use:
agricultural land: 12.5% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 0.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 6.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 5.5% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 43.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 43.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
the majority of the population lives in the Society Islands, one of five archipelagos that includes the most populous island - Tahiti - with approximately 70% of the nation's population

Natural hazards:
occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues:
sea level rise; extreme weather events (cyclones, storms, and tsunamis producing floods, landslides, erosion, and reef damage); droughts; fresh water scarcity

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