Overseas Countries
and Territories Association
Wallis and Futuna are islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. Its surface area is 142 km2 and its population around 11 600 (2018).
The official language is French.
Atoloto MALAU
Representative of the Territory in Paris
Member of the Executive Committee of OCTA
The archipelago consists of two permanently inhabited main islands, Wallis on one hand and Futuna on the other. Wallis is surrounded by islets scattered inside the lagoon and Futuna, which is not near the lagoon, has only one islet that is much larger than those of Wallis.
Unlike Wallis that has a low relief (highest point 151 m), Futuna and Alofi are high volcanic islands (highest point 524 m).
The climate of the Wallis and Futuna Islands is tropical, hot and humid. The minimum and maximum temperatures range between 22°C and 32°C and average temperatures are always higher than 25.5°C. Humidity is generally above 82% and annual rainfall exceeds 3,000 mm. There is a cool season from May to September, moderated by trade winds and a hot, rainy season from November to April. The primary flora of Wallis and Futuna includes about 370 indigenous plants. The rate of endemism is about 2%.
Wallis and Futuna are an overseas territory with a specific institutional organisation:
The labour market is characterised by the low share of the private sector, which accounts for 31% of employment. The public sector, essentially financed by the State, alone accounts for almost 70% of total salaried employment (public and private).
The Territory’s foreign trade is marked by a very pronounced imbalance between growing imports and almost no exports. The economy has remained traditional and low-monetized because of the importance of self-consumption and the weight of the public sector. The local productive economy is based on a traditional food and domestic economy where the agricultural, livestock and artisanal fishing sectors ensure a significant share of household food self-sufficiency. The government provides significant support to the local economy, mainly through State subsidies. The remoteness and isolation of the archipelago does not favour the development of the tourism sector.
Since July 2016, Wallis and Futuna has benefited from the Energy Equalisation scheme. It establishes a progressive alignment of the local electricity tariff with that of France. In return, the Territory undertakes to replace fossil fuels with its own resources.
The challenge for the territory is to control its electricity demand while developing renewable energies. The goal is to achieve energy autonomy by 2050, with an intermediate target of 50% renewable energy by 2030.
GDP: 18 billion F.CFP (2005)
GDP per capita: 1.2 million F.CFP (2005)
Wallis and Futuna have been successfully involved in BEST2.0.
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Hervé Jonathan is the current Prefect and Senior Administrator of Wallis and Futuna since 11 January 2021. Before becoming the Prefect and Senior Administrator of Wallis and Futuna, Mr. Jonathan was the sub- prefect of Bayonne. He has also served as the Secretary-General of the Prefecture of Loiret.