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.
Dependency status: overseas department of France
Capital: Cayenne
Currency: French franc (FRF); euro (EUR)
Geography of French Guiana
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 53 00 W
Area:
total: 91,000 sq. km
land: 89,150 sq. km
water: 1,850 sq. km
Land boundaries:
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km
Coastline: 378 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l’Inini 851 m
Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 90%
other: 10% (1996 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq. km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Geography – note: mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent.
People of French Guiana
Population: 195,506 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30.47% (male 27,669; female 26,428)
15-64 years: 64.05% (male 61,457; female 52,266)
65 years and over: 5.48%
Population growth rate: 2.74%
Birth rate: 22.02 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 4.77 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 10.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.3 years
male: 72.97 years
female: 79.79
Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman
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.)
French Guiana Economy
Economy – overview: The economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which 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: purchasing power parity – $1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $6,000 (1998 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1992)
Labor force: 58,800 (1997)
Labor force – by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
Unemployment rate: 21.4% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Electricity – production: 440 million kWh (1999)
Electricity – production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Agriculture – products: rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Exports: $155 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports – commodities: shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports – partners: France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997)
Imports: $625 million (c.i.f., 1997)
Imports – commodities: food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports – partners: France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997)
Debt – external: $1.2 billion (1988)
Currency: French franc (FRF); euro (EUR)
Map of French Guiana
