Society Islands

Society Islands
Native name: Îles de la Société

Tahiti

Geography

Location

Pacific Ocean

Coordinates

Coordinates: 17°32′S, 149°50′W

Archipelago

Society Islands

Major islands

Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Huahine

Area

1590 km²

Highest point

Mont Orohena
2241 m

Administration

France

Overseas collectivity

French Polynesia

Largest city

Papeete (131,695 urban)

Demographics

Population

227,807 ^[1] (as of Aug. 2007 census)

Density

143/km²

The Society Islands (French: Îles de la Société or officially Archipel de la Société) are a group of islands in the south Pacific, administratively part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook states in his journal that he called the islands Society "as they lay contiguous to one another"^[2].

The islands are divided geographically, politically and administratively into two groups:

The islands became a French protectorate in 1843 and a colony in 1880. They have a population of 227,807 inhabitants (as of August 2007 census).^[1] They cover a land area of 1,590 km² (614 sq. miles).

References

^ ^a ^b (French) Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF). "Recensement de la population 2007" (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
^ Horwitz, Tony. Oct. 2003, Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, Bloomsbury, ISBN 0-7475-6455-8