1998 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1998 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 91,000 sq km land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km
Area-comparative
slightly smaller than Indiana
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
378 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m
Environment-current issues
NA
Environment-international agreements
party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
Geographic coordinates
4 00 N, 53 00 W
Geography-note
mostly an unsettled wilderness
Irrigated land
20 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 1,183 km border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 83% other: 17% (1993 est.)
Location
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Map references
South America
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural hazards
high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Natural resources
bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish
Terrain
low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 31% (male 26,003; female 24,840) 15-64 years: 64% (male 56,034; female 47,250) 65 years and over: 5% (male 4,245; female 4,175) (July 1998 est.)
Birth rate
23.73 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate
4.53 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups
black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Infant mortality rate
13.48 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages
French
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.34 years male: 73.12 years female: 79.71 years (1998 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.)
Nationality
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese
Net migration rate
14.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population
162,547 (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate
3.4% (1998 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.35 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
none (overseas department of France)
Constitution
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name
conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
Data code
FG
Dependency status
overseas department of France
Executive branch
chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since NA January 1997) head of government: President of the General Council Stephan PHINERA (since NA March 1994); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since NA March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: representative of the French Government appointed by the president of France on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils, who vote on party lines
Flag description
the flag of France is used
Government type
NA
Independence
none (overseas department of France)
International organization participation
FZ, WCL, WFTU Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of France) Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of France)
Judicial branch
Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party or PSG [Leone MICHOTTE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean BART] (may be a subset of PSG); Nationalist Popular Party of Guyana (Parti Nationaliste Populaire Guiana) or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Union of Social Democrats (Union des Socialistes Democates) or USD [Leon BERTRAND] (umbrella group of RPR and UDF); Rally for the Republic or RPR [Leon BERTRAND]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [R. CHOW-CHINE]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]; Action Democrate Guiana or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Democratic and European Rally of the Senate or RDSE
Legal system
French legal system
Legislative branch
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 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 20-27 March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council-last held 22 March 1992 (next to be held NA 1998) election results: General Council-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-PSG 8, FDG 4, RPR 1, other left 2, other right 2, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-PSG 16, FDG 10, RPR 2, independents 3 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 24 September 1989 (next to be held NA September 1998); results-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-RDSE 1; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-RPR 1, PSG 1
National capital
Cayenne
National holiday
National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture-products
rice, corn, manioc, cocoa, vegetables, bananas, sugar; cattle, pigs, poultry
Budget
revenues: $176 million expenditures: $350 million, including capital expenditures of $92 million (1994)
Currency
1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes
Debt-external
$1.2 billion (1988)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA
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, with exports of fish and fish products (mostly shrimp) accounting for more than 60% of total revenue in 1992. 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. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
Electricity-capacity
165,000 kW (1995)
Electricity-consumption per capita
2,890 kWh (1995)
Electricity-production
420 million kWh (1995)
Exchange rates
French francs (F) per US$1-6.0836 (January 1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993)
Exports
total value: $81 million (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing partners: France 60%, EU 7%
Fiscal year
calendar year Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity-$800 million (1993 est.)
GDP-composition by sector
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP-per capita
purchasing power parity-$6,000 (1993 est.)
GDP-real growth rate
NA%
Imports
total value: $605 million (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals partners: France 62%, Germany 4%, Belgium-Luxembourg 4%, US 2%
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Inflation rate-consumer price index
2.5% (1992)
Labor force
total: 46,300 (1993) by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0
Radios
79,000 (1992 est.)
Telephone system
domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones
31,000 (1990 est.)
Television broadcast stations
9
Televisions
22,000 (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
24.1% (1993 est.)
Transportation
Airports
11 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (1997 est.)
Highways
total: 1,817 km (national 432 km, departmental 385 km, community 1,000 km) paved: 727 km unpaved: 1,090 km (1995 est.)
Merchant marine
none
Railways
0 km (1995)
Waterways
460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft Ports and harbors: Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni
Military and Security
Military branches
French Forces, Gendarmerie
Military expenditures-dollar figure
$NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP
NA%
Military manpower-availability
males age 15-49: 46,136 (1998 est.) Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 29,878 (1998 est.)
Military-note
defense is the responsibility of France
Transnational Issues
Disputes-international
Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)
Illicit drugs
small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe (overseas territory of France)