2000 Edition

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.

Area

land

89,150 sq km

total

91,000 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

highest point

Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Environment - current issues

NA

Geographic coordinates

4 00 N, 53 00 W

Geography - note

mostly an unsettled wilderness

Irrigated land

20 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

total

1,183 km

Land use

arable land

0%

forests and woodland

90%

other

10% (1996 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

0%

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 31% (male 27,116; female 25,902) 15-64 years: 64% (male 59,690; female 50,621) 65 years and over: 5% (male 4,694; female 4,582) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

22.44 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%

Infant mortality rate

13.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

French

Life expectancy at birth

female

79.6 years (2000 est.)

male

72.77 years

total population

76.1 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

82% (1982 est.)

male

84%

total population

83%

Nationality

adjective

French Guianese

noun

French Guianese (singular and plural)

Net migration rate

11.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

172,605 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

2.93% (2000 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female

total population

1.13 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.21 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

none (overseas department of France)

Capital

Cayenne

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

none (overseas department of France)

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (overseas department of France)

Executive branch

cabinet

NA

chief of state

President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since NA January 1997)

elections

French president elected by popular vote for a seven-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

head of government

President of the General Council Andre LECANTE (since NA March 1998); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992)

Flag description

the flag of France is used

Government type

NA

Independence

none (overseas department of France)

International organization participation

FZ, WCL, WFTU

Judicial branch

Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)

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)

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 - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2

elections

General Council - last held 20-27 March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)

note

one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 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 holiday

National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Political parties and leaders

Action Democrate Guiana or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Democratic and European Rally of the Senate or RDSE [leader NA]; Guianese Socialist Party or PSG ; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG ; Nationalist Popular Party of Guyana (Parti Nationaliste Populaire Guiana) or PNPG ; Rally for the Republic or RPR ; Socialist Party or PS (may be a subset of PSG); Union for French Democracy or UDF ; Union of Social Democrats (Union des Socialistes Democates) or USD (umbrella group of RPR and UDF); Walwari Committee

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry

Budget

expenditures

$390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)

revenues

$225 million

Currency

1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Debt - external

$1.2 billion (1988)

Economic aid - recipient

$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. 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.

Electricity - consumption

400 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

430 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

100%

hydro

0%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

euros per US$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995)

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)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

NA%

industry

NA%

services

NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,000 (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining

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)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

21.4% (1998 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998)

Radios

104,000 (1997)

Telephone system

domestic

fair open wire and microwave radio relay system

international

satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

47,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

NA

Television broadcast stations

3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

30,000 (1997)

Airports

11 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

727 km

total

1,817 km

unpaved

1,090 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

none (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors

Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni

Railways

0 km (1995)

Waterways

460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of France

Military branches

French Forces, Gendarmerie

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 48,445 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 31,367 (2000 est.)

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

FRENCH POLYNESIA