French Polynesia Economy

French Polynesia has a moderately developed economy dependent on imported goods, tourism, and the financial assistance of mainland France. Tourist facilities are well developed and are available on the major islands. Also, as the noni fruit has been discovered to have medicinal uses, growth in this industry has provided many jobs.

Major agricultural products are coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits. The primary natural resources the islands export are timber, fish, black pearls, and cobalt. However, while the islands do export a large number of goods, tourism remains the largest industry and its biggest employer.

In 2007 French Polynesia’s imports amounted to US$1.9 billion and exports amounted to 197 million US dollars. The major export of French Polynesia is their famous black Tahitian pearls which accounted for 64% of exports in 2007. The GDP of French Polynesia was US$5.3 billion in 2004; the fifth-largest economy in Oceania after Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. The GDP per capita was US$21,250 in 2004.

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