French Guiana
Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
NAIndependence none (overseas department of France)
French Guiana as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 113 fields, one of 17 editions from 1990 to 2006.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 fieldsLand use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 90% other: 10% (1996 est.)
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.3 years male: 72.97 years female: 79.79 years (2001 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.)
Government
NA; 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)
19 fieldsGeneral Council or Conseil General, 2 seatsone dot, one seat
Country name
conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
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]
Economy
The economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies and imports.
32 fieldsTrading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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.
Labor force - by occupation
services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
Budget
revenues: $225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Agriculture - products
rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Imports - commodities
food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
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)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone 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)
Transportation
8 fieldsWaterways
3,300 km navigable by native craft note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers
Military
French Forces, Gendarmerie
6 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “French Guiana.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/french-guiana/2001.