from
CIA World Factbook 2006
French Guiana
Introduction
Background: First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was
the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The
European Space Agency launches its communication
satellites from Kourou.
Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Geographic 4 00 N, 53 00 W
coordinates:
Map South America
references:
Area: total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than Indiana
comparative:
Land total: 1,240.4 km
boundaries: border countries: Brazil 730.4 km, Suriname 510 km
Coastline: 378 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature
variation
Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small
mountains
Elevation lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
extremes: highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m
Natural bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum,
resources: kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay
Land use: arable land: 0.13%
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005)
Irrigated 20 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural high frequency of heavy showers and severe
hazards: thunderstorms; flooding
Environment - NA
current
issues:
Geography - mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only
note: non-independent portion of the South American continent
People
Population: 199,509 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.9% (male 29,540/female 28,210)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 69,302/female 59,980)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,350/female 6,127) (2006
est.)
Median age: total: 28.6 years
male: 29.6 years
female: 27.4 years (2006 est.)
Population 1.96% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 20.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 11.76 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 10.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 77.27 years
expectancy at male: 73.95 years
birth: female: 80.75 years (2006 est.)
Total 2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - NA
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - NA
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - NA
deaths:
Nationality: noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese
Ethnic groups: black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese,
Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Religions: Roman Catholic
Languages: French
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83%
male: 84%
female: 82% (1982 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane
Dependency overseas department of France
status:
Government NA
type:
Capital: name: Cayenne
geographic coordinates: 4 56 N, 52 20 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
Administrative none (overseas department of France)
divisions:
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
holiday:
Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France
branch: (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Pierre
LAFLAQUIERE (since 19 July 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council
Pierre DESERT (since 26 March 2004); President of the
Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for
a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French
president on the advice of the French Ministry of
Interior; presidents of the General and Regional
Councils are appointed by the members of those councils
Legislative unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19
branch: seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or
Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held in March 2000
(next to be held March 2006); Regional Council - last
held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing
parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council -
(second election results) percent of vote by party - PS
37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by party
- PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27
September 1998 (next to be held September 2007);
results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National
Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in
2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1
Judicial Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court
branch: based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique,
Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
Political Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY];
parties and Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE];
leaders: Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN];
Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY];
Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for French
Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a
Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis
DUBOC]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in
France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]
Political NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International UPU, WCL, WFTU
organization
participation:
Diplomatic none (overseas department of France)
representation
in the US:
Diplomatic none (overseas department of France)
representation
from the US:
Flag the flag of France is used
description:
Economy
Economy - The economy is tied closely to the much larger French
overview: economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the
French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25%
of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important
economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of
the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods,
not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill
industry that provides sawn logs for export.
Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area,
where the population is largely concentrated; rice and
manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily
dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment
is a serious problem, particularly among younger
workers.
GDP $1.551 billion (2003 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official NA
exchange
rate):
GDP - real NA%
growth rate:
GDP - per $8,300 (2003 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: NA% 6.6%
composition by industry: NA% 15.6%
sector: services: NA% 77.8%
Labor force: 62,630 (1999)
Labor force - agriculture: 18.2%
by occupation: industry: 21.2%
services: 60.6% (1980)
Unemployment 19.2% (December 2003)
rate:
Population NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: NA%
income or highest 10%: NA%
consumption by
percentage
share:
Inflation rate 1% (2003)
(consumer
prices):
Budget: revenues: $135.5 million
expenditures: $135.5 million; including capital
expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Agriculture - corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables,
products: bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products,
rum, gold mining
Industrial NA%
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 465.2 million kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 100%
production by hydro: 0%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 432.6 million kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 6,600 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Exports: $137.5 million f.o.b. (2003)
Exports - shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing
commodities:
Exports - France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2004)
partners:
Imports: $625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport
commodities: equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2004)
partners:
Debt - $800.3 million (2003)
external:
Economic aid - $NA
recipient:
Currency euro (EUR)
(code): note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union
introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by
financial institutions of member countries; on 1
January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for
everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code: EUR
Exchange euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004),
rates: 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 51,000 (2001)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 98,000 (2004)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: NA
system: domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay
system
international: country code - 594; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6
broadcast (including 5 repeaters) (1998)
stations:
Radios: 104,000 (1997)
Television 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 30,000 (1997)
Internet .gf
country code:
Internet 106 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 2 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 38,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 11 (2006)
Airports - total: 4
with paved over 3,047 m: 1
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - total: 7
with unpaved 914 to 1,523 m: 2
runways: under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Roadways: total: 817 km (1998)
Waterways: 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and
coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft
(2003)
Ports and Degrad des Cannes
terminals:
Military
Military no regular military forces; Gendarmerie
branches:
Manpower males age 18-49: 47,809 (2005 est.)
available for
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 38,676 (2005 est.)
for military
service:
Military NA
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military NA
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Military - defense is the responsibility of France
note:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere
international: Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
Illicit drugs: small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption;
minor transshipment point to Europe