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
Total: 91,000 km²
Land: 89,150 km²
Water: 1,850 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries
Total: 1,183 km
Border countries: (2) Brazil 673 km; , Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m

Natural resources: bauxite timber gold (widely scattered) petroleum kaolin fish niobium tantalum clay

Land use
Arable land: 0.14%
Permanent crops: 0.05%
Other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1998 est.)

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

Population: 195,506 (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 2.1% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

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%

Languages: French

Religions: Roman Catholic

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.)

Median age
Total: 28.45 years
Male: 29.49 years
Female: 27.31 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.1% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 20.7 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.85 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.11 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male/female
65 years and over: 1.04 male/female
Total population: 1.12 male/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.07 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 12.91 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.2 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.09 years
Male: 73.77 years
Female: 80.58 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA%
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 83%
Male: 84%
Female: 82% (1982 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Department of Guiana
Conventional short form: French Guiana
Local long form: none
Local short form: Guyane

Government type: NA

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: Bastille Day 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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

Legislative branch
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]

International organization participation: UPU 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 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $1.551 billion (2003 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: NA% (2001 est.)

Agriculture products: corn 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 agriculture: 18.2%
By occupation industry: 21.2%
By occupation services government and commerce: 60.6% (1980)

Unemployment rate: 22% (2001)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $225 million
Expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.5% (2002 est.)

Exports: $155 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: shrimp timber gold rum rosewood essence clothing
Partners: France 62% Switzerland 7% US 2% (2001)

Imports: $625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Commodities: food (grains processed meat) machinery and transport equipment fuels and chemicals
Partners: France 63% US Trinidad and Tobago Italy (2002 est.)

Debt external: $1.2 billion (1988)

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

Electricity
Production: 460.1 million kWh (2002)
Consumption: 427.9 million kWh (2002)
Exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 51,000 (2001)
Mobile cellular: 138,200 (2002)

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)

Internet
Country code: .gf
Users: 3,200 (2002)

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

Airports: 11 (2004 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 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Waterways
Note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004)

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 3

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

Illicit drugs: small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe