Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Match 84 DB Rec# - 55,831 Dataset-WOFACT Source :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Source key :CI Program :WORLD FACTBOOK Program key :CI WOFACT Update sched. :Annually ID number :CI WOFACT 083 Title :FRENCH GUIANA Data type :TEXT End year :1994 Date of record:02/16/1994 Keywords 3 : | FRENCH GUIANA Text : FRENCH GUIANA Affiliation: (overseas department of France) GEOGRAPHY Location: northern South America, bordering on the North Atlantic Ocean between Suriname and Brazil Map references: South America, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 91,000 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana Land boundaries: total 1,183 km, Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km Coastline: 378 km exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) 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 Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 82% other: 18% Irrigated land: NA km2 Environment: mostly an unsettled wilderness PEOPLE Population: 133,376 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 4.42% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 26.46 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 4.72 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: 22.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 16.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.87 years male: 71.59 years female: 78.32 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.54 children born/woman (1993 est.) noun: French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 66%, Caucasian 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% Religions: Roman Catholic Languages: French Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 82% male: 81% female: 83% Labor force: 23,265 by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) GOVERNMENT Names: conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane Digraph: FG Type: overseas department of France Capital: Cayenne Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France) Independence: none (overseas department of France) Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) Legal system: French legal system National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789) Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party (PSG), Gerard HOLDER; Rally for the Republic (RPR), Paulin BRUNE; Union of the Center Rally (URC); Union for French Democracy (UDF), Claude Ho A CHUCK; Guyana Democratic Front (FDG), Georges OTHILY Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal French National Assembly: last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held March 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) PSG 1, RPR 1 French Senate: last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) PSG 1 Regional Council: last held 22 March 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (31 total) PSG 16 Executive branch: French president, commissioner of the republic Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral Regional Council Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) Leaders: Chief of State: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) Head of Government: Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA 1992) Member of: FZ, WCL Diplomatic representation in US: as an overseas department of France, the interests of French Guiana are represented in the US by France US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France) Flag: 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, with exports of fish and fish products (mostly shrimp) accounting for more than 60% of total revenue in 1987. 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 - is 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. National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $421 million (1986) National product real growth rate: NA% National product per capita: $4,390 (1986) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1987) Unemployment rate: 13% (1990) Budget: revenues $735 million; expenditures $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987) commodities: shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence partners: France 36%, US 14%, Japan 6% (1990) Imports: $435 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods, producer goods, petroleum partners: France 62%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, US 4%, FRG 3% (1987) External debt: $1.2 billion (1988) Industrial production: growth rate NA% Electricity: 92,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 1,450 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining Agriculture: some vegetables for local consumption; rice, corn, manioc, cocoa, bananas, sugar; livestock - cattle, pigs, poultry Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.51 billion Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.4812 (January 1993), 5.2938 (1992), 5.6421 (1991), 5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Highways: 680 km total; 510 km paved, 170 km improved and unimproved earth Inland waterways: 460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft Ports: Cayenne Airports: total: 10 usable: 10 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1 Telecommunications: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system; Defense forces Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie Manpower availability: males 15-49 39,005; fit for military service 25,477 (1993 est.) Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP Note: defense is the responsibility of France -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM, July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries Local Filename: WF940082.TXT