| 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. |
| Location: |
Northern South
America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil
and Suriname |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
4 00 N, 53 00 W |
| Map
references: |
South America |
| Area: |
total:
91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller
than Indiana |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510
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 |
| Environment
- current issues: |
NA |
| Geography
- note: |
mostly an
unsettled wilderness |
| Population: |
177,562 (July
2001 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% (male 4,937; female
4,805) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.74% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
22.02
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
4.77 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
10.14 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
13.61
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 76.3 years
male: 72.97 years
female: 79.79 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.17 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| 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 |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83%
male: 84%
female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane |
| Dependency
status: |
overseas
department of France |
| Administrative
divisions: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Independence: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| National
holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14
July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 1958
(French Constitution) |
| Legal
system: |
French legal
system |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since
17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since
NA January 1997)
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)
cabinet: NA
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 |
| 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 NA March
2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held
15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: General Council - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 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
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 |
| 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 [Antoine KARAM]; Guyana Democratic
Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Rally for the Republic or
RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre
RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG); Walwari Committee
[Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| 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) |
| Flag
description: |
the flag of
France is used |
| 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
- real growth rate: |
NA% |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $6,000 (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| 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) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital
expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
| Industries: |
construction,
shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
440 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
409.2 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (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) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA |
| Currency: |
French franc (FRF);
euro (EUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Euros per US
dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386
(1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367
(1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
47,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: NA
domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio
relay system
international: satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 14
(including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters)
(1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (plus eight
low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
30,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gf |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
2 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
2,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
1,817 km
paved: 817 km
unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
| Waterways: |
3,300 km
navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing
vessels and coastal and river steamers |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Cayenne, Degrad
des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
French Forces,
Gendarmerie |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 49,495 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 32,052 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the
responsibility of France |
| 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 |
|
