Overseas France

**Overseas France** () is the part of France that is outside of the European continent. It consists of all overseas departments, territories and collectivities. These territories have several different legal statuses and levels of autonomy. Overseas France includes island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, French Guiana in South America, and Adélie Land in Antarctica. Each inhabited territory is represented in both the French National Assembly and the French Senate (which together make up the Parliament of France).

2,685,705 people lived in the overseas departments and territories in January 2011.

### Overseas departments and regions

Overseas departments and regions are completely part of France.
- Guadeloupe (since 1946)
- Martinique (since 1946)
- French Guiana (since 1946)
- Réunion (since 1946)
- Mayotte (since 2011)
- From 1976 to 2003, Mayotte was a unique overseas territory. Between 2003 and 2011, it was an _overseas community_. It became an overseas department on 31 March 2011, after its citizens voted to become a full part of France.

### Overseas collectivities

The category of _overseas collectivity_ was created by changes made to France's constitution in 28 March 2003. Each overseas collectivity has its own written laws.
- French Polynesia (since 2003)
- From 1946 to 2003, French Polynesia was an overseas territory. In 2004, it was given the designation of _overseas country_ ().
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon (since 2003)
- From 1976 to 1985, Saint Pierre and Miquelon was an overseas department. Between 1985 and 2003, it was a unique overseas territory.
- Wallis and Futuna (since 2003)
- From 1961 to 2003, Wallis and Futuna was an overseas territory.
- Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy (since 2007)
- Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy both separated from Guadeloupe in 2003. They became separate overseas collectivities of their own on 22 February 2007.

### Special collectivity

- New Caledonia (since 1999)
- New Caledonia was classified as an overseas territory from 1946. It gained a special status in 1999 as a result of the Nouméa Accord. It has its own citizenship, and power is gradually being passed from the French state to New Caledonia itself. A referendum on independence is to be called any time between 2014 and 2019.

### Overseas territories

- French Southern and Antarctic Lands (since 1956)

### Minor territories

- Clipperton Island is held as private property under the direct authority of the French government. It has no permanent population.

## Representation

The overseas departments and territories are represented by 27 _députés_ in the French National Assembly and 21 senators in the French Senate. This is 4.7% of the 577 _députés_ and 6% of the 343 senators.
- Réunion: 7 _députés_ and 4 senators
- Guadeloupe: 4 _députés_ and 3 senators
- Martinique: 4 _députés_ and 2 senators
- French Polynesia: 3 _députés_ and 2 senators
- French Guiana: 2 _députés_ and 2 senators
- Mayotte: 2 _député_ and 2 senators
- New Caledonia: 2 _députés_ and 2 senators
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 1 _député_ and 1 senator
- Wallis and Futuna: 1 _député_ and 1 senator
- Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin: 1 _député_ and 2 senators

### Inhabited departments and collectivities

The 11 French Overseas Territories are :
|Flag|Name|Capital|Population|Land area (km<sup>2</sup>)|Status|Location|Notes|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||French Guiana|Cayenne|align="center"|229,000 <small>(Jan. 2009)</small>|align="right"|83,534|Overseas department / region|South America||
||French Polynesia|Papeete|align="center"|264,000 <small>(Jan. 2009)</small>|align="right"|4,167|Overseas collectivity|South Pacific Ocean||
||Guadeloupe|Basse-Terre|align="center"|404,000 <small>(Jan. 2009)</small>|align="right"|1,628|Overseas department / region|Antilles||
||Martinique|Fort-de-France|align="center"|402,000 <small>(Jan. 2009)</small>|align="right"|1,128|Overseas department / region|Antilles||
||Mayotte|Mamoudzou|align="center"|186,452 <small>(July 2007)</small>|align="right"|374|Overseas department / region|Africa (Mozambique Channel)|Also claimed by Comoros|
||New Caledonia|Nouméa|align="center"|244,410 <small>(Jan. 2008)</small>|align="right"|18,575|_Sui generis_ collectivity|South Pacific Ocean|Referendum for independence to occur sometime during the period of 2014 to 2019.|
||Réunion|Saint-Denis|align="center"|817,000 <small>(Jan. 2009)</small>|align="right"|2,512|Overseas department / region|Africa (Indian Ocean)||
||Saint Barthélemy|Gustavia|align="center"|<small>(Jan. 2007)</small>|align="right"|21|Overseas collectivity|Antilles|Detached from Guadeloupe on 22 February 2007.|
||Saint Martin|Marigot|align="center"|<small>(Jan. 2007)</small>|align="right"|53|Overseas collectivity|Antilles|Detached from Guadeloupe on 22 February 2007.|
||Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint-Pierre|align="center"|<small>(Jan. 2007)</small>|align="right"|242|Overseas collectivity|Southeast of Canada||
||Wallis and Futuna|Mata-Utu|align="center"|<small>(Jul. 2008)</small>|align="right"|274|Overseas collectivity|South Pacific Ocean||

|colspan="3"|Overall Summary||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Overseas Departments / Regions|align="right"|1,890,705|align="right"|91,847|
|Overseas Collectivities & New Caledonia|align="right"|795,000|align="right"|23,632|
|align="right"|**2,685,705**|align="right"|**120,049**||

### Uninhabited lands

Lands generally uninhabited, except by researchers in scientific stations.

|Flag|Name|Capital|Land area (km<sup>2</sup>)|Status|Location|Notes||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Banc du Geyser|-|align="right"|1|TAAF district|Africa (Mozambique Channel)|Claimed by Madagascar and Comoros|
||Bassas da India|-|align="right"|1|TAAF district|Africa (Mozambique Channel)|Claimed by Madagascar|
||Clipperton|-|align="right"|7|French state private property|West of Mexico||
||Crozet Islands|Alfred Faure|align="right"|352|TAAF district|South Indian Ocean||
||Europa|-|align="right"|28|TAAF district|Africa (Mozambique Channel)|Claimed by Madagascar|
||Glorioso Islands|-|align="right"|5|TAAF district|Indian Ocean|Claimed by Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles|
||Juan de Nova|-|align="right"|5|TAAF district|Africa (Mozambique Channel)|Claimed by Madagascar|
||Kerguelen Islands|Port-aux-Français|align="right"|7,215|TAAF district|South Indian Ocean||
||Saint-Paul Island and Amsterdam Island|Martin-de-Viviès|align="right"|66|TAAF district|Indian Ocean||
||Tromelin Island|-|align="right"|1|TAAF district|Indian Ocean|Claimed by Mauritius|

### Antarctica

|Flag|Name|Capital|Land area (km<sup>2</sup>)|Status|Location|Notes||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Adélie Land|Dumont d'Urville Station|align="right"|432,000|TAAF district|Antarctica|Under terms of Antarctic Treaty System|

## Related pages

- French colonial empire
- Government of France
- Communes in France
- Metropolitan France
- Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

## Other websites

- Official website