French overseas territory
Date claimed 1842
Capital Mata Uta
Population 14,600
Population density 53 per square km (138 per square mile)

 

 

 

 

 


DESCRIPTION

Unlike France's other South Pacific overseas territories, the inhabitants of Wallis and Futuna have little desire for greater autonomy. The islands' subsistence economy produces a variety of tropical crops, while expatriate remittances and the sale of licenses to Japanese and South Korean fishing fleets provide foreign exchange. Deforestation, leading to soil erosion, is of great concern.