(CBS)
Although the Dutch and the British were the European discoverers of the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the French who were the first Europeans to settle in the territory, with the arrival of French missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Catholicism.
Wallis is named after the Cornish explorer Samuel Wallis.
On April 5, 1842, they asked for the protection of France after the rebellion of a part of the local population.
On April 5, 1887, the queen of Uvea (on the island of Wallis) signed a treaty officially establishing a French protectorate.
The kings of Sigave and Alo on the islands of Futuna and Alofi also signed a treaty establishing French protectorate on February 16, 1888.
The islands were put under the authority of the French colony of New Caledonia.
In 1917, the three traditional chiefdoms were annexed to France and turned into the Colony of Wallis and Futuna, still under the authority of the Colony of New Caledonia.
In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory.
Source: CIA World Fact Book 
(AP)
16,309 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: NA
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: NA
male: NA
female: NA
Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders
adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander
Ethnic groups: Polynesian
Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
Languages: Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50%
male: 50%
female: 50% (1969 est.)
(AP)
The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $60 million (2004 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $NA
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Labor force: 3,104 (2003)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80%
industry: 4%
services: 16% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15.2% (2003)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2005)
Budget: revenues: $29,730
expenditures: $31,330 (2004 est.)
Public debt: 5.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats; fish
Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: NA kWh
Electricity - consumption: NA kWh
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Exports: $47,450 f.o.b. (2004)
Exports - commodities: copra, chemicals, construction materials
Exports - partners: Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13% (2006)
Imports: $61.17 million f.o.b. (2004)
Imports - commodities: chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods
Imports - partners: France 97%, Australia 2%, NZ 1% (2006)
Debt - external: $3.67 million (2004)
Economic aid - recipient: assistance from France, $NA
Currency (code): Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.03 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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