| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane |
| Capital: |
Cayenne |
| Location: |
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
4 00 N, 53 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Indiana |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA ( overseas department of France ) |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (overseas department of France) |
| Independence |
none (overseas department of France) |
| National
Holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 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: |
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)
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] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
195,506 (July 2005 est.) |
| 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.) |
| 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% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic |
| Languages: |
French |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
51,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - 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) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.gf |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
3,200 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Merchant marine: |
registered in other countries: 3 |
| Airports: |
11 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
