_#_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 NEGL%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 82%; other 18%
_#_Environment: mostly an unsettled wilderness
_*_People
_#_Population: 101,603 (July 1991), growth rate 3.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--French Guianese (sing., pl.); adjective--French
Guiana
_#_Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 66%; Caucasian 12%; East Indian,
Chinese, Amerindian 12%; other 10%
_#_Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic
_#_Language: French
_#_Literacy: 82% (male 81%, female 83%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1982)
_#_Labor force: 23,265; services, government, and commerce 60.6%,
industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
_#_Organized labor: 7% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Department of Guiana
_#_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: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
_#_Executive branch: French president, commissioner of the republic
_#_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
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May
1981);
Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Francois
DI CHIARA (since NA 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Guianese Socialist Party (PSG), Gerard HOLDER;
Rally for the Republic (RPR), Paulin BRUNE;
Guyanese Democratic Action (ADG), Andre Lecante;
Union for French Democracy (UDF), Claude Ho A CHUCK;
National Front (FN), Guy MALON;
Popular and National Party of Guiana (PNPG), Claude ROBO;
National Anti-Colonist Guianese Party (PANGA), Michel KAPEL
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Regional Council--last held 16 March 1986 (next to be
held NA 1991);
results--PSG 43%, RPR 27.7%, ADG 12.2%, UDF 8.9%, FN 3.7%,
PNPG 1.4%, other 3.1%;
seats--(31 total) PSG 15, RPR 9, ADG 4, UDF 3;
French Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(1 total) PSG 1;
French National Assembly--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) PSG 1, RPR 1
_#_Communists: Communist party membership negligible
_#_Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
_#_Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France
the interests of French Guiana are represented in the US by 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--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.
_#_GDP: $186 million, per capita $2,240; real growth rate NA% (1985)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1987)
_#_Unemployment rate: 15% (1987)
_#_Budget: revenues $735 million; expenditures $735 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1987)
_#_Exports: $54.0 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence;
partners--France 31%, US 22%, Japan 10% (1987)
_#_Imports: $394.0 million (c.i.f., 1987);
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,
1,890 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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 (1970-87), $1.25 billion
_#_Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100
centimes
_#_Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.1307 (January 1991),
5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261
(1986), 8.9852 (1985)
_#_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 possibly navigable by native craft
_#_Ports: Cayenne
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 10 total, 10 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
_#_Telecommunications: fair open wire and radio relay system;
18,100 telephones; stations--5 AM, 7 FM, 9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49 28,650; 18,903 fit for military
service
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of France
_%_
_@_French Polynesia
(overseas territory of France)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 3,941 km2; land area: 3,660 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than one-third the size of
Connecticut
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 2,525 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;