Tuamotus

The Tuamotus are the largest chain of atolls in the world. They form part of French Polynesia, and span an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe. They encompass over 78 different atolls, including:

• Rangiroa, the second largest atoll in the world after Kwajalein
• Tikehau
• Manihi, home to many black pearl farms
• Fangataufa and Moruroa, site of 193 French nuclear bomb tests between 1966 and 1996.

At the 2002 census, the Tuamotus (including the Gambier Islands) had a population of 15,862 inhabitants. Only 769 inhabitants live in a 400 kilometers (249 miles) radius around Moruroa and Fangataufa, the sites of the French nuclear tests.