Maupiti is a commune of

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

, an overseas territory of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The commune is in the

administrative subdivision Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

.Décret n° 2005-1611 du 20 décembre 2005 pris pour l'application du statut d'autonomie de la Polynésie française

Légifrance Légifrance () is the official website of the French government for the publication of legislation, regulations, and legal information. It was established by decree in 2002. Access to the site is free. Virtually complete, it presents or refers to ...

The commune of Maupiti is made up of the island of

Maupiti Maupiti is an island in the western Leeward Islands in French Polynesia. It is the westernmost volcanic island in the archipelago, northwest of Tahiti and west of Bora Bora. It has a population of 1,286 people. The largest town is Vaiea. Geog ...

proper with its surrounding

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s emerging from the coral reef, with an area of 12.1 km² in total, and of three distant

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

s: * Maupiha'a ( Mopelia), 4.6 km² in land area, located 185 km (115 mi) south-west of Maupiti * Manua'e (a.k.a. Scilly), 4.9 km² in land area, located 255 km (160 mi) west of Maupiti. This atoll is the westernmost emerged land of French Polynesia. * Motu One (a.k.a. Bellinghausen), 3.97 km² (0.9 sq mi) in land area, located 250 km (155 mi) north-west of Maupiti. Most of the inhabitants live on Maupiti island itself. The atolls of Maupiha'a and Manua'e have 20 and 21 inhabitants respectively, while Motu One is uninhabited. At the 2022 census the commune had a population of 1,302. The administrative center of the commune is the settlement of Vai'ea, on the island of Maupiti.Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française

References

Communes of French Polynesia {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub