"text":"The Futuna island group was discovered by the Dutch in 1616 and Wallis by the British in 1767, but it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842, and took official control of them between 1886 and 1888. Notably, Wallis and Futuna was the only French colony to side with the Vichy regime during World War II, a phase that ended in May of 1942 with the arrival of 2,000 American troops. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory and officially assumed that status in 1961. In 2003, Wallis and Futuna's designation changed to that of an overseas collectivity."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand"
"text":"tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 250-300 cm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees Celsius"
"text":"deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural freshwater resources; lack of soil fertility on the islands of Uvea and Futuna negatively impacts agricultural producitivity"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"both island groups have fringing reefs; Wallis contains several prominent crater lakes"
"text":"Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands"
},
"conventional short form":{
"text":"Wallis and Futuna"
},
"local long form":{
"text":"Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna"
},
"local short form":{
"text":"Wallis et Futuna"
},
"former":{
"text":"Hoorn Islands is the former name of the Futuna Islands"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"Wallis Island is named after British Captain Samuel WALLIS, who discovered it in 1767; Futuna is derived from the native word \"futu,\" which is the name of the fish-poison tree found on the island"
}
},
"Dependency status":{
"text":"overseas collectivity of France"
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary democracy (Territorial Assembly); overseas collectivity of France"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"13 57 S, 171 56 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"French president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); administrator superior appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly elected by assembly members"
"text":"unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats - Wallis 13, Futuna 7; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)<br />Wallis and Futuna indirectly elects 1 senator to the French Senate by an electoral college by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term, and directly elects 1 deputy to the French National Assembly by absolute majority vote for a 5-year term"
"text":"Territorial Assembly - last held on 26 March 2017 (next to be held in March 2022)<br />French Senate - last held on 28 September 2014 (next to be held by September 2020)<br />French National Assembly - last held on 11 June 2017 (next to be held in June 2022)"
"text":"Territorial Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - 2 members are elected from the list Fia gaue fakatahi kihe kaha'u e lelei and 1 each from 18 other lists; composition - men 14, women 6, percent of women 30%<br /> French Senate - LR 1<br />French National Assembly - independent 1"
"text":"Court of Assizes or Cour d'Assizes (consists of 1 judge; court hears primarily serious criminal cases); note - appeals beyond the Court of Assizes are heard before the Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel (in Noumea, New Caledonia)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"NA"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"courts of first instance; labor court; note - justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the 3 traditional kings administer customary law, and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu"
"text":"Left Radical Party or PRG [Guillaume LACROIX] (formerly Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG)<br />Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) (leader NA)<br />Rally for Wallis and Futuna-The Republicans (Rassemblement pour Wallis and Futuna) or RPWF-LR [Clovis LOGOLOGOFOLAU]<br />Socialist Party or PS<br />Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]<br />Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF"
"text":"unofficial, local flag has a red field with four white isosceles triangles in the middle, representing the three native kings of the islands and the French administrator; the apexes of the triangles are oriented inward and at right angles to each other; the flag of France, outlined in white on two sides, is in the upper hoist quadrant",
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> the design is derived from an original red banner with a white cross pattee that was introduced in the 19th century by French missionaries; the flag of France is used for official occasions</p>"
"text":"<p>The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of labor force earnings coming from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. However, roughly 70% of the labor force is employed in the public sector, although only about a third of the population is in salaried employment.</p><p></p><p>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. France directly finances the public sector and health-care and education services. It also provides funding for key development projects in a range of areas, including infrastructure, economic development, environmental management, and health-care facilities.</p><p></p><p>A key concern for Wallis and Futuna is an aging population with consequent economic development issues. Very few people aged 18-30 live on the islands due to the limited formal employment opportunities. Improving job creation is a current priority for the territorial government.</p>"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> offical data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions</p>"
"text":"2G widespread; bandwidth is limited; mobile subscriber numbers are higher than fixed-line and better suited for islands; good mobile coverage in the capital cities and also reasonable coverage across more remote atolls; recent international interest in infrastructure development; increase in demand for mobile broadband as mobile services serve as primary source for Internet access; Kacific-1 broadband satellite launched in 2019 to improve costs and capability (2020)"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"fixed-line teledensity 25 per 100 persons (2019)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"the publicly owned French Overseas Network (RFO), which broadcasts to France's overseas departments, collectivities, and territories, is carried on the RFO Wallis and Fortuna TV and radio stations (2019)"
