French Guiana

Department of Guiana

NAIndependence none (overseas department of France)

French Guiana as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 107 fields, one of 17 editions from 1990 to 2006.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalCayenne

Position4 00 N, 53 00 W

Area91,000 sq km

LocationNorthern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

2000

Every edition of French Guiana

Populationas each edition published it

172,605 people July 2000 est. · 97,781 in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.93% 2000 est. · 4.42% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 28.2 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

76.1 years 2000 est. · 74.87 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.21 children per woman 2000 est. · 3.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

13.99 deaths per 1,000 live births 2000 est. · 19 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$6,000 1998 est. · $4,390 in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

17 fields

Land useshare of 91,000 sq km

permanent pastures 0%forests and woodland 90%other 10% (1996 est.)arable land 0% in all · permanent crops 0% in all · irrigated 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

91,000sq km

land: 89,150 sq kmwater: 1,850 sq kmslightly smaller than Indiana

Coastline

378km

exclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

Highest point

851m

Bellevue de l'Ininilowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Land boundaries

1,183km

border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Location

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

Climate

tropical;
hot, humid;
little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain

low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains

Natural resources

bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish

Natural hazards

high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

People

15 fields

Population

172,605

(July 2000 est.)growth rate: 2.93% (2000 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2000 est.)

Birth

22.44Death

4.76Net migration

11.59

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2000 est.)76.1

72.77 · 79.6

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1982 est.)83%

84% · 82%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

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.)

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.)

Infant mortality rate

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

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%

Government

NA; President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since NA January 1997); President of the General Council Andre LECANTE (since NA March 1998)

19 fields

General Council, 31 seats, elected 20-27 March 1994one dot, one seat

PS 11various left parties 9RPR 6independents 3Walwari Committee 2

Country name

conventional long form:: Department of Guiana
conventional short form:: French Guiana
local long form:: none
local short form:: Guyane

National holiday

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

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

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 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
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

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

Action Democrate Guiana or ADG [Andre LECANTE];
Democratic and European Rally of the Senate or RDSE [leader NA];
Guianese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN];
Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY];
Nationalist Popular Party of Guyana (Parti Nationaliste Populaire Guiana) or PNPG [Jose DORCY];
Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE];
Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG);
Union for French Democracy or UDF [R. CHOW-CHINE];
Union of Social Democrats (Union des Socialistes Democates) or USD [Theodore ROUMILLAC] (umbrella group of RPR and UDF);
Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]

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

The economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies and imports.

31 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

2.5%

(1992)

Unemployment rate

21.4%

(1998 est.)

Labor force

58,800

(1997)

Debt - external

$1.2billion

(1988)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

62%

France

52%

14%

Switzerland

Trinidad and Tobago

Exports $155 million (f.o.b., 1997)Imports $625 million (c.i.f., 1997)(1997)

Budget

Revenues

$225 millionExpenditures

$390 million (1996)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $105 million

Electricity

fossil fuel 100%hydro 0% · nuclear 0% · other 0%

Electricity production

430 million (1998)Electricity consumption

400 million (1998)

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%

Labor force - by occupation

services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)

Industries

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

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

Imports

$625 million (c.i.f., 1997)

Imports - commodities

food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

Currency

1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

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)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Fixed lines

47,000

(1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

Telephone system

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)

Radios

104,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations

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

Televisions

30,000 (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Transportation

8 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

over 3,047 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

Paved 4Unpaved 7

Networkskm

Highways

1,817Railways

0 (1995)Waterways

460

Highways: paved: 727 km · unpaved: 1,090 km (1995 est.) · Waterways: , navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft