Map of French Guiana | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 1,183 km total; Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

Maritime claims: Extended 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

Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish

Land use: NEGL% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures; 82% forest and woodland; 18% other

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: defense is the responsibility of France


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Population: 97,781 (July 1990), growth rate 3.4% (1990)

Nationality: noun--French Guianese (sing., pl.); adjective--French Guiana

Ethnic groups: 66% black or mulatto; 12% Caucasian; 12% East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian; 10% other

Languages: French

Religions: predominantly Roman Catholic

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: mostly an unsettled wilderness

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 73%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Department of Guiana

Government type: overseas department of France

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Pierre LACROIX (since NA August 1988)

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral Regional Council

Judicial branch: highest local court is the Court of Appeals based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: WFTU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: as an overseas department of France the interests of French Guiana are represented in the US by France

Flag description: the flag of France is used

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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, with exports of fish and fish products (mostly shrimp) accounting for about two-thirds of total revenue in 1985. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops--rice, cassava, bananas, and sugarcane--are limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers, with an unemployment rate of 15%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: some vegetables for local consumption; rice, corn, manioc, cocoa, bananas, sugar

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 15% (1987)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $735 million; expenditures $735 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1987)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $37.0 million (f.o.b., 1986)
Commodities: shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence
Partners: US 41%, Japan 18%, France 9% (1984)

Imports: $297.7 million (c.i.f., 1986)
Commodities: food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods, producer goods, petroleum
Partners: France 55%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, US 3% (1984)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $1.2 billion (1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 92,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 1,950 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 11 total, 11 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

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

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs