Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
Wallis and Futuna
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15,998 (2025 est.)
142 sq km
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
🧭 Background
Around 800 B.C., the first settlers arrived on the islands of Wallis and Futuna, which are 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, and they converted most of the population of both islands by 1846. The missionaries and newly converted King LAVELUA of Uvea on Wallis asked France for a protectorate in 1842 following a local rebellion. 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 the 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, becoming a French overseas territory in 1961. Despite the split, a significant Wallisian and Futunan community still lives in New Caledonia. In 2003, Wallis and Futuna became a French overseas collectivity. The islands joined the Pacific Islands Forum as an associate member in 2018, two years after France’s other Pacific territories became full members of the organization.
🗺️ Geography
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
13 18 S, 176 12 W
Oceania
142 sq km
142 sq km
0 sq km
1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.
0 km
129 km
12 nm
200 nm
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
Volcanic origin; low hills
Mont Singavi (on Futuna) 522 m
Pacific Ocean 0 m
NEGL
42.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 7% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 35.2% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
74.9% (2023 est.)
0% (2023 est.)
0.6 sq km (2022)
Cyclones; tsunamis
Both island groups have fringing reefs; Wallis contains several prominent crater lakes
👥 People and Society⬆️ Top
15,998 (2025 est.)
8,217
7,781
Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders
Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander
Polynesian
Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French (official) 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 est.)
Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
19.8% (male 1,643/female 1,511)
67.5% (male 5,535/female 5,247)
12.7% (2024 est.) (male 1,023/female 1,005)
48.7 (2025 est.)
29 (2025 est.)
19.7 (2025 est.)
5.1 (2025 est.)
36.9 years (2025 est.)
35.5 years
37.3 years
0.19% (2025 est.)
11.63 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
6.13 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
-3.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
0% of total population (2023)
0% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1,000 MATA-UTU (capital) (2018)
1.05 male(s)/female
1.09 male(s)/female
1.05 male(s)/female
1.02 male(s)/female
1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
3.8 deaths/1,000 live births
3.9 deaths/1,000 live births
81.1 years (2024 est.)
78.2 years
84.2 years
1.71 children born/woman (2025 est.)
0.84 (2025 est.)
Rural: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: NA
Rural: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 94.2% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 94.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 5.8% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 5.8% of population (2022 est.)
57.2% (2018 est.)
99.8% (2023 est.)
99.9% (2023 est.)
100% (2023 est.)
🌿 Environment⬆️ Top
Deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) due to wood as the main fuel source; soil erosion; lack of natural freshwater resources; lack of soil fertility on the islands of Uvea and Futuna
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
42.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 7% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 35.2% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
74.9% (2023 est.)
0% (2023 est.)
0% of total population (2023)
0% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
🏛️ Government⬆️ Top
Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands
Wallis and Futuna
Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna
Wallis et Futuna
Hoorn Islands is the former name of the Futuna Islands
Wallis Island is named after British Captain Samuel WALLIS, who visited in 1767; Futuna is a local name, and the meaning is unclear
Parliamentary democracy (Territorial Assembly); overseas collectivity of France
Overseas collectivity of France
Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
13 57 S, 171 56 W
UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
3 administrative precincts (circonscriptions, singular - circonscription) Alo, Sigave, Uvea
French civil law
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
French constitution amendment procedures apply
See France
18 years of age; universal
President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Administrator Superior Jean-François de MANHEULLE (since 17 November 2025)
President of the Territorial Assembly Munipoese MULI'AKA'AKA (since 20 March 2022)
Council of the Territory appointed by the administrator superior on the advice of the Territorial Assembly
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
Territorial Assembly (Assemblée territoriale)
Unicameral
20 (directly elected)
Proportional representation
Full renewal
5 years
3/20/2022
Ofa mo'oni ki tou fenua (2); Mauli fetokoniaki (2); 1 seat each from 16 other lists
Court of Assizes or Cour d'Assizes (consists of 1 judge; court hears primarily serious criminal cases)
NA
Courts of first instance; labor court
Left Radical Party or PRG (formerly Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG) Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) Rally for Wallis and Futuna-The Republicans (Rassemblement pour Wallis and Futuna) or RPWF-LR Socialist Party or PS Taumu'a Lelei Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF
None (overseas territory of France)
None (overseas collectivity of France)
PIF (observer), SPC, UPU
None (overseas collectivity of France)
Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790)
Description: unofficial local flag has a red field with four white isosceles triangles in the middle; the apexes of the triangles are oriented inward and at right angles to each other; a small flag of France, outlined in white on two sides, is in the upper-left corner meaning: the triangles represent the three native kings of the islands and the French administrator history: the design is derived from a red flag with a white cross that French missionaries introduced in the 19th century
Red saltire (Saint Andrew's Cross) on a white square on a red field
Red, white
"La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)
Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle
Official anthem, as a French territory
💹 Economy⬆️ Top
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
Coconuts, breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats; fish
Copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber
$32.54 million (2015 est.)
$34.18 million (2015 est.)
Denmark 35%, Sweden 14%, Netherlands 14%, Pakistan 9%, Poland 7% (2023)
Seats (2023)
Fiji 35%, France 32%, NZ 11%, Australia 6%, China 4% (2023)
Refined petroleum, prepared meat, poultry, iron pipe fittings, animal food (2023)
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar -
110.31 (2024 est.)
110.347 (2023 est.)
113.474 (2022 est.)
100.88 (2021 est.)
104.711 (2020 est.)
📡 Communications⬆️ Top
3,000 (2021 est.)
26 (2021 est.)
12,200 (2023)
107 (2023)
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)
.wf
45.8% (2021 est.)
🚚 Transportation⬆️ Top
2 (2025)
1 (2023)
General cargo 1
1 (2024)
0
0
0
1
0
Mata-Utu
🛡️ Military and Security⬆️ Top
Defense is the responsibility of France
Source: Factbook JSON archive.