two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio
centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half
a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern
the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups
red and white are traditional Polynesian colors
note: identical to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti, the largest and most populous of the islands in French Polynesia, but which has no emblem in the white band