French Guiana

Department of Guiana

NAIndependence none (overseas department of France)

French Guiana as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 112 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

2005

Every edition of French Guiana

Populationas each edition published it

195,506 people July 2005 est. · 97,781 in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.1% 2005 est. · 4.42% in 1993

Median ageyears

28.45 years 2005 est. · 28.2 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

77.09 years 2005 est. · 74.87 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.01 children per woman 2005 est. · 3.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

12.07 deaths per 1,000 live births 2005 est. · 19 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$8,300 2003 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 crops 0.05%other 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)arable land 0.14% in all · irrigated 20 sq km (1998 est.)

Area

91,000sq km

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

Coastline

378km

territorial sea: 12 nmexclusive economic zone: 200 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), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay

Natural hazards

high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

Geography - note

mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent

People

19 fields

Age structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)

6,038

65 and over6.1%

5,830

67,895

15-6464.7%

58,534

29,262

0-1429.3%

27,947

MaleFemale

Population

195,506

(July 2005 est.)growth rate: 2.1% (2005 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)

Birth

20.7Death

4.85Net migration

5.11

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2005 est.)77.09

73.77 · 80.58Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)12.07

12.91 · 11.2

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1982 est.)83%

84% · 82%Median age years (2005 est.)28.45

29.49 · 27.31

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 1.04 male(s)/female
total population:: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

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 Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002); President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001)

19 fields

General Council, 31 seats, elected NA March 2000one 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

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government:: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet:: NA
elections:: French president elected by popular vote for a five-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 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 - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, 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 September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA;

2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 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

Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE];
Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN];
Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY];
Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY];
Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE];
Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE];
Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]

Political pressure groups and leaders

International organization participation

UPU, 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 the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports.

34 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$1.551billion

(2003 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

1.5%

(2002 est.)

Unemployment rate

22%

(2001)

Labor force

58,800

(1997)

Budget

Revenues

$225 millionExpenditures

$390 million (1996)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $105 million

Electricity

Electricity production

460.1 million (2002)Electricity consumption

427.9 million (2002)

Economy - overview

The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. 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; 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 - real growth rate

NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture:: NA%
industry:: NA%
services:: NA% (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Population below poverty line

NA%

Agriculture - products

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

Industries

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

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption

6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

Oil - imports

Exports

$155 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing

Exports - partners

France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001)

Imports

$625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.)

Debt - external

$1.2 billion (1988)

Economic aid - recipient

Currency (code)

euro (EUR)

Exchange rates

Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

7 fields

Mobile cellular

138,200

(2002)

Internet users

3,200

(2002)

Fixed lines

51,000

(2001) · country code .gf

Telephone system

general assessment:: NA
domestic:: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system
international:: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)