Tahitians are French citizens with full civil and political rights. The Tahitian language and the French language are both in use.

Tahiti hosts a French university, Universite de la Polynesie Française (”University of French Polynesia”). It is a small university, with around 2,000 students and about 60 researchers. Physicists Pascal Ortega [1] (lightning studies) and Alessio Guarino [2] (nonlinear physics) are among them. In the Human Sciences department, sociologist Laura Schuft deserves to be mentioned for her study on the integration of mainlander French workers in Tahiti.

Tourism is a significant industry, especially during the Heiva festival in Papeete celebrating indigenous culture and the commemoration of the storming of the Bastille in France, both of which take place annually in July.