Wallis and Futuna — map and facts

About Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity located in the South Pacific Ocean, lying between Fiji and Samoa. The territory consists of three main volcanic islands grouped into two island clusters: the Wallis Islands (centred on Uvéa) and the Hoorn Islands (comprising Futuna and Alofi). The administrative capital is Mata-Utu, located on Uvéa. The population is approximately 11,000 people, though a large number of people from Wallis and Futuna live in New Caledonia, which has a Wallisian and Futunan population estimated to exceed the home islands. As a French overseas collectivity, the territory sends representatives to the French National Assembly and Senate. French law applies, and residents are French citizens. The territory is unique in retaining three traditional Polynesian kingdoms — Uvéa, Sigave, and Alo — whose customary kings hold ceremonial authority alongside the French administration. The economy relies heavily on French subsidies, remittances, and subsistence agriculture and fishing.

Geography and Landscape

Wallis and Futuna covers a combined land area of approximately 142 square kilometres. The Wallis Islands group, centred on Uvéa, is a low-lying coral atoll with a barrier reef encircling the island and several smaller islets within the lagoon. Uvéa itself rises gently, with the highest point reaching about 151 metres. The Hoorn Islands, comprising Futuna and the uninhabited Alofi, are younger, more rugged, and of volcanic origin, with Futuna's highest peak, Puke, reaching 524 metres. Unlike Uvéa, Futuna and Alofi have no barrier reef. The climate is tropical and warm throughout the year, with heavy rainfall and high humidity. Cyclones occasionally affect the territory. The soils of Futuna are more fertile than those of the coralline Wallis group, supporting more varied agriculture. The lagoon surrounding Uvéa supports rich marine life and subsistence fishing.

History

Wallis and Futuna were settled by Polynesian peoples over two thousand years ago. European contact began with the Dutch explorer Jacob Le Maire, who sighted Futuna in 1616, while the English navigator Samuel Wallis, after whom the Wallis Islands are named, visited in 1767. French Catholic missionaries arrived in the 1830s and were instrumental in converting the population, and the local kings subsequently requested French protection. France established a protectorate over the islands in 1842 and they became a formal French colony in 1888. During the Second World War, the islands were used as a United States military base, with tens of thousands of American troops stationed there at various times. Wallis and Futuna became a French overseas territory in 1961 following a local referendum, and the territory's status was reclassified as an overseas collectivity in 2003. Emigration, particularly to New Caledonia, has significantly reduced the home population in recent decades.