The flag of French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

was adopted in 1984. The red and white colours have been adopted from historic Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

an flags. An outrigger

Outrigger

An outrigger is a part of a boat's rigging which is rigid and extends beyond the side or gunwale of a boat.In an outrigger canoe and in sailboats such as the proa, an outrigger is a thin, long, solid, hull used to stabilise an inherently unstable main hull. The outrigger is positioned rigidly and...

 is depicted in the central disc over a stylised emblem

Emblem

An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...

 of sun and sea; this is very similar to other flags in this area, for example the flag of Kiribati

Flag of Kiribati

The flag of Kiribati: the upper half is red with a gold frigatebird flying over a gold rising sun , and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean and the 3 groups...

. In some versions of this flag, five figures representing the peoples of the island group are included in the design.

Flags of component islands