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.

Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N 53 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Coastline: 378 km

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

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

Geography
Note: mostly an unsettled wilderness

Population: 172,605 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 2.93% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Ethnic groups: black or mulatto 66% white 12% East Indian Chinese Amerindian 12% other 10%

Languages: French

Religions: Roman Catholic

Population growth rate: 2.93% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 22.44 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 4.76 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.59 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA

Infant mortality rate: 13.99 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.21 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Government type: NA

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

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

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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)

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)
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.

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,000 (1998 est.)

Agriculture products: rice manioc (tapioca) sugar cocoa vegetables bananas; cattle pigs poultry

Industries: construction shrimp processing forestry products rum gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 58,800 (1997)
By occupation services government and commerce: 60.6%
By occupation industry: 21.2%
By occupation agriculture: 18.2% (1980)

Unemployment rate: 21.4% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (1992)

Exports: $155 million (f.o.b. 1997)
Commodities: shrimp timber gold rum rosewood essence clothing
Partners: France 62% Switzerland 7% US 2% (1997)

Imports: $625 million (c.i.f. 1997)
Commodities: food (grains processed meat) machinery and transport equipment fuels and chemicals
Partners: France 52% US 14% Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997)

Debt external: $1.2 billion (1988)

Exchange rates: Euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2000) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) 5.8367 (1997) 5.1155 (1996)

Electricity
Production: 430 million kWh (1998)
Consumption: 400 million kWh (1998)
Exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 47,000 (1997)
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)

Internet
Country code: .gf
Service providers isps: 2 (2000)
Users: 2000 (2000)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 11 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.)

Railways: 0 km (1995)

Waterways
Note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

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