Papeete
Papeʻetē | |
|---|---|
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Top: aerial view of Pape'etē; middle: Cathedral of Notre Dame of Papeʻetē, Presidential palace; bottom: Pape'etēTown Hall, Bougainville Park | |
Location of the commune (in red) within the Windward Islands | |
Location of Papeʻetē | |
| Coordinates: 17°32′06″S 149°34′11″W / 17.535°S 149.5696°W | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Subdivision | Windward Islands |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Michel Buillard |
Area 1 | 17.4 km2 (6.7 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 299.5 km2 (115.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | 26,654 |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 124,274 |
| • Urban density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−10:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 98735 /98714 |
| Elevation | 0–621 m (0–2,037 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Papeete (Tahitian: Papeʻetē, pronounced [pa.pe.ʔe.te]; old name: Vaiʻetē) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeʻetē is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeʻetē is the administrative capital. Both the President of French Polynesia and French High Commissioner reside in Papeʻetē.
It is the primary center of Tahitian and French Polynesian public and private governmental, commercial, industrial, and financial services, the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used port of call. The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands. The name Papeʻetē, means "water from a basket"— this was an effect of a naming taboo during Pōmare I's reign where the Tahitian contemporary word for water vai was substituted with pape, the old name Vaiʻetē is still recognised in some areas such as the Marquesas. The urban area of Papeʻetē had a total population of 124,724 inhabitants at the 2022 census, 26,654 of whom lived in the commune of Papeʻetē proper.