The first humans settled Wallis and Futuna around 800 B.C. The islands were a natural midpoint between Fiji and Samoa. Around A.D. 1500, Tongans invaded Wallis and a chiefdom system resembling Tonga’s formal hierarchy developed on the island. Tongans attempted to settle Futuna but were repeatedly rebuffed. Samoans settled Futuna in the 1600s and a slightly less centralized chiefdom system formed. Dutch explorers were the first Europeans to see the islands in 1616, followed intermittently by other Europeans, including British explorer Samuel WALLIS in 1767. French Catholic missionaries were the first Europeans to permanently settle Wallis and Futuna in 1837. The missionaries converted most of the population of Wallis by 1842 and of Futuna by 1846. The missionaries and newly-converted King LAVELUA of Uvea on Wallis asked France for a protectorate in 1842 following a rebellion of locals. France agreed, although the protectorate status would not be ratified until 1887. In 1888, King MUSULAMU of Alo and King TAMOLE of Sigave, both on Futuna, signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate; the Wallis and Futuna protectorate was integrated into the territory of New Caledonia that same year. France renegotiated the terms of the protectorate with the territory’s three kings in 1910, expanding French authority.
Wallis and Futuna was the only French colony to side with the Vichy regime during World War II until the arrival of Free French and US troops in 1942. In 1959, inhabitants of the islands voted to separate from New Caledonia and become a French overseas territory, a status it assumed in 1961. Despite the split, a significant Wallisian and Futunan community still lives in New Caledonia. In 2003, Wallis and Futuna’s designation changed to that of an overseas collectivity. Wallis and Futuna became an associate member of the Pacific Islands Forum in 2018, two years after France’s other Pacific territories became full members of the organization.
note: as a territory of France, \"La Marseillaise\" is official (see France)
" } }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { "text": "lower-middle-income, agrarian French dependency economy; heavily reliant on French subsidies; licenses fishing rights to Japan and South Korea; major remittances from New Caledonia; aging workforce; import-dependent; deforestation-fueled fragility" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2004": { "text": "$60 million (2004 est.)" } }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "text": "NA
" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2004": { "text": "$3,800 (2004 est.)" } }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$195 million (2005) (2005)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2015": { "text": "0.9% (2015)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2005": { "text": "2.8% (2005)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "NA" }, "industry": { "text": "NA" }, "services": { "text": "NA" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "26% (2005)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "54% (2005)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "coconuts, breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats; fish" }, "Industries": { "text": "copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "NA" }, "Labor force": { "text": "4,482 (2013)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "74%" }, "industry": { "text": "3%" }, "services": { "text": "23% (2015 est.)" } }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2013": { "text": "8.8% (2013 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2008": { "text": "12.2% (2008 est.)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "NA" }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "NA" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "NA" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "$32.54 million (2015 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "$34.18 million (2015 est.)" } }, "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": { "text": "-0.8% (of GDP) (2015 est.)" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2004": { "text": "5.6% of GDP (2004 est.)" }, "note": "note: 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" }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "16.7% (of GDP) (2015 est.)" }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "calendar year" }, "Exports": { "Exports 2004": { "text": "$47,450 (2004 est.)" } }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "Singapore 47%, France 32%, Belgium 9% (2019)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "integrated circuits, jewelry, cars, aircraft parts, polyacetals (2019)" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2004": { "text": "$61.17 million (2004 est.)" } }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "France 43%, Fiji 24%, New Zealand 11%, Australia 6% (2019)" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "refined petroleum, beef products, poultry meats, engine parts, packaged medicines (2019)" }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2004": { "text": "$3.67 million (2004)" } }, "Exchange rates": { "Currency": { "text": "Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2015": { "text": "110.2 (2015 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2014": { "text": "89.8 (2014 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2013": { "text": "89.85 (2013 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2012": { "text": "90.56 (2012 est.)" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "3,000 (2021 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "26 (2021 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "0 (2018)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "0 (2019)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "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; broadband satellite launched in 2019 to improve costs and capability (2020)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line teledensity 26 per 100 persons (2021)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 681; landing point for the Tui-Samoa submarine cable network connecting Wallis & Futuna, Samoa and Fiji (2020)" } }, "Broadcast media": { "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)" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".wf" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "5,496 (2021 est.)" }, "percent of population": { "text": "45.8% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "Airports": { "text": "2 (2021)" }, "Airports - with paved runways": { "text": "2", "note": "note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "1" }, "by type": { "text": "other 1 (2021)" } }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Leava, Mata-Utu" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military - note": { "text": "defense is the responsibility of France" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "none identified
" } } }