Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 57% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: occasional cyclonic storms in January
Environment—current issues: NA
Environment—international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geography—note: includes five archipelagoes; Makatea in French
Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
Pacific Ocean—the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and
Nauru
People
Population: 242,073 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 40,422; female 38,913)
15-64 years: 63% (male 78,637; female 72,832)
65 years and over: 4% (male 5,642; female 5,627) (1999 est.)