French Polynesia

Economy & income

Currency

• CFP franc (XPF, symbol F / ₣)
• euro-pegged at a fixed rate (1000 XPF = 8.38 EUR)
• ~105 XPF per USD (Jul 2026)

GDP per capita

• ~$22,440 nominal (2024, World Bank)
• PPP n/a (not published by World Bank/IMF for PF)

Average salary

• ~$1,957 net/mo (Numbeo, Jun 2026)
• gross avg higher — pay clusters near SMIG for many workers

Median salary

• n/a — no official median published
• wage compression puts many near SMIG net ~₣159k/mo (~$1,520)

Minimum wage

SMIG ₣173,181/mo gross (₣1,024.74/hr, 169h/mo; since May 2024) ≈ $1,650/mo (~$1,520 net) — PF sets its own SMIG, distinct from French SMIC

Cost of living

• High — Papeete ranks in the world's top ~20% costliest cities (Numbeo, 2026)
• imported goods pricey, 1-BR city-centre rent ~$1,400/mo, utilities ~$180/mo

Digital landscape

Population

0.283 million (~283k; DataReportal Oct 2025; 2022 census 278,786)

Internet users

72.7% (~205k users; Oct 2025)

Social media users

66.5% (~188k identities; Oct 2025; 91.5% of internet users)

Mobile connections

344k cellular connections = 122% of population (Oct 2025)

Devices

mobile ~49.4% / desktop ~48.5% / tablet ~2.1% (StatCounter, Jun 2026)

Ad spend

• n/a — DataReportal's PF report omits ad-spend figures
• market too small for separate estimates

Top social platforms

Facebook ~188k, 66.5% of pop — dominant

TikTok ~156k adults 18+, fast-growing

LinkedIn ~90k, ad-reach

Instagram ~69.8k, ~25% of pop

Reddit ~34.3k

X/Twitter ~15.6k

Messengers

• Facebook Messenger (~153k — near-universal, primary chat app)
• WhatsApp (secondary, used with France/abroad)
• Instagram DM
• iMessage (high iOS share)

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods

• Bank cards — Visa / Mastercard / CB (dominant online & POS)
• Bank transfer (virement SEPA-like via local banks)
• American Express (Air Tahiti Nui co-brand card)
• Cash (still common in-person)

E-wallets

• NiuPay (local Mastercard wallet/card)
• Apple Pay / Google Pay (growing, iOS-led)
• PayPal — NOT available for XPF accounts (major gap)

Cash on delivery

• Low — e-commerce is overwhelmingly card-based/prepaid
• cash-on-delivery is not a market norm

E-commerce

• Moderate but constrained — small population, high freight/customs costs
• heavy reliance on France-based mail-order and cross-border marketplaces
• few scaled local stores

Notes

• OSB (Océanienne de Services Bancaires) PayZen is the main local online payment gateway
• principal banks are Banque de Tahiti, Banque de Polynésie (SG) and Banque Socredo

Audience & culture

Languages

• French (official, ~73% main language)
• Tahitian / Reo Māʻohi (~20%)
• Marquesan (~2.6%)
• Austral & Paumotu languages (~1-2%)
• English (tourism/business)

Religion

Protestant (Māʻohi Protestant Church & others) ~54%, Roman Catholic ~30%, other (LDS/Mormon, Adventist, JW) ~10%, none ~6%

Median age

36.1 years (DataReportal, Oct 2025)

Key seasons

• Heiva i Tahiti (July — flagship cultural/dance festival)
• Austral-winter dry season & tourism high season (May–Oct)
• Matariʻi i niʻa 'season of abundance' (Nov–Apr)
• Christmas & New Year
• Miss Tahiti (June)
• Tahiti Pro Teahupoʻo surf (Aug)

Cultural notes

• Strong Polynesian identity and family/community (fetii)
• church influence high
• French for commerce, Tahitian for identity
• mobile-first with Facebook/Messenger central
• luxury/honeymoon tourism huge
• ocean/lagoon and environmental pride

Where to find creators

• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• Miss Tahiti pageant circuit
• surf & lagoon-lifestyle scene
• French diaspora creators

Media landscape

Creators & public figures

Top creators

R

Raimana Van Bastolaer ~642K Instagram

InstagramTeahupoʻo surf legend & coach ('Godfather of Teahupoʻo'), Air Tahiti Nui ambassador — surf/travel/lifestyle brand fit

M

Matahi Drollet ~233K Instagram

InstagramTeahupoʻo free-surfer, viral big-wave & barrel content — surf/adventure/action brands

T

Tim McKenna ~192K Instagram

InstagramOcean & landscape photographer (Tahiti-based) — travel, camera and lifestyle brands

T

Tahia Cambet ~56K YouTube / ~31K Instagram

YouTubeʻOri Tahiti dance teacher/choreographer (school in Paris) — culture, dance, fashion

M

Mihimana Braye ~35K Instagram

InstagramPro surfer from Papeete — surf/lifestyle/apparel brands

Hinarere Taputu ~25K Instagram

InstagramModel, Miss Tahiti 2014 & Miss World France 2015 — beauty/fashion/pageant

Celebrities

K

Kauli Vaast ~347K Instagram

Surfer — Olympic gold medalist, Paris 2024 (surfing at Teahupoʻo), 2026 WSL Championship Tour

Vaimalama Chaves ~530K Instagram

Miss France 2019 (from Tahiti), model/singer/TV personality

Michel Bourez ~156K Instagram

Pro surfer 'The Spartan' — 12 years on the WSL Championship Tour

V

Vahine Fierro ~130K Instagram

Pro surfer from Huahine — 2024 Tahiti Pro winner at Teahupoʻo, Olympian

Fabrice Santoro n/a (retired; limited social media)

Retired French tennis star (born in Papeete), famed for a 20-year career

Marama Vahirua ~4K Instagram

Former international footballer (Nantes; Tahiti NT, 2013 Confederations Cup)

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals

• Travel & tourism (hotels, flights, tours — dominant)
• Luxury/honeymoon packages
• Cross-border e-commerce & marketplaces
• Mobile apps & casual gaming
• Finance (cards, credit, insurance)
• Dating
• Streaming/VOD
• Beauty & nutra (compliance-sensitive)

Active networks

• Awin
• Kwanko (French leader)
• Rakuten Advertising
• TradeDoubler
• Effiliation (FR)
• CJ Affiliate
• Admitad/Mitgo
• Travel programs (Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Expedia)

Payouts

• Travel CPA ~3-8% of booking or ~$30-120/sale
• hotel/OTA 3-6%
• finance CPL ~$5-40
• dating CPL ~$1-6
• low local volume, value sits in high-AOV travel + French diaspora

Competition

• Low local competition (tiny ~283k market)
• French-language creatives
• the real contest is global travel affiliates bidding on 'Bora Bora/Tahiti' keywords for inbound tourists

Seasonality

• Booking peaks Nov–Mar (northern-hemisphere winter escapes) and May–Oct in-destination dry season
• Heiva (July) and year-end holidays lift engagement

Traffic sources

• Facebook & Instagram Ads (Meta)
• Google Search & Display
• TikTok
• Influencer/UGC (surf & lifestyle)
• Travel SEO/content
• YouTube

Good to know

Capital

Papeete (Tahiti, Society Islands)

Major cities

• Faaʻa
• Punaauia
• Pirae
• Mahina
• Paea
• Moorea
• Uturoa (Raiatea)
• Bora Bora

Time zones

• Society Is./Tahiti UTC−10 (Papeete, standard, no DST)
• Marquesas UTC−09:30
• Gambier UTC−09

Android vs iOS

48% 52%

Android 48% iOS 52%

Phone brands

• Apple (~52%)
• Samsung (~31%)
• Xiaomi (~3.6%)
• Google Pixel (~1%)
• Oppo (<1%)

Top e-commerce

• Amazon.fr / Amazon US (cross-border)
• Cdiscount (FR)
• AliExpress / Temu / Shein (Asia cross-border)
• La Redoute / Fnac (FR mail-order)
• Carrefour & Champion 'Fenua' (local online grocery)
• Facebook Marketplace (local C2C)

Peak activity

Weekday evenings ~18:00–22:00 and midday lunch (local UTC−10); strong weekend usage; Sunday mornings quiet (church)

Creative taboos

• French nuclear-testing legacy (Moruroa/Fangataufa) and related health harms
• independence/sovereignty politics
• land rights
• religion/church respect
• reef & lagoon environment
• avoid colonial or 'exotic paradise' clichés
• treat tattoo & cultural symbols respectfully

Also worth knowing

1. Meta-first market — Facebook reaches ~66% of the population and Messenger ~54%, so Facebook/Messenger campaigns outperform.
2. The high-value play is inbound luxury travel (honeymoon/Bora Bora) — target source markets (US, France, Japan, NZ), not just the tiny local base.
3. Very high iOS share + no PayPal for XPF → optimize card and Apple Pay checkout; French-language creatives with XPF pricing; low volume but low competition and high travel AOV.