]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname ^# 4 00 N, 53 00 W ^$ South America ^% `! 91,000 sq km `" 89,150 sq km `# 1,850 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Indiana ^' `! 1,183 km `U Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km ^( 378 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation ^+ low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m ^- bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay ^. `' 0.14% `( 0.05% `) 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) ^/ 20 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding ^1 NA ^2 mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent 
]# ^3 195,506 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947) `+ 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) `, 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 28.45 years `- 29.49 years `. 27.31 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.1% (2005 est.) ^7 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.05 male(s)/female `+ 1.16 male(s)/female `, 1.04 male(s)/female `1 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births `- 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births `. 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 77.09 years `- 73.77 years `. 80.58 years (2005 est.) ^= 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 French Guianese (singular and plural) `3 French Guianese ^B black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% ^C Roman Catholic ^D French ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 83% `- 84% `. 82% (1982 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Department of Guiana `5 French Guiana `V none `W Guyane ^G overseas department of France ^H NA ^I Cayenne ^J none (overseas department of France) ^K none (overseas department of France) ^L Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) ^M 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) ^N French legal system ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002) `7 President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) `8 NA `9 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 ^Q 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) `9 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) `: 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 ^R Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) ^S 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] ^T NA ^U UPU, WCL, WFTU ^V none (overseas department of France) ^W none (overseas department of France) ^X the flag of France is used 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $1.551 billion (2003 est.) ^[ NA% ^\ purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) ^] `; NA% `< NA% `= NA% (2001 est.) ^^ 58,800 (1997) ^_ agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) ^` 22% (2001) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 1.5% (2002 est.) _# `@ $225 million `A $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) _$ corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry _% construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining _& NA% _' 460.1 million kWh (2002) _( 427.9 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $155 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) _0 shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing _1 France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) _2 $625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.) _3 food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals _4 France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) _5 $1.2 billion (1988) _6 NA _7 euro (EUR) _8 Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 51,000 (2001) _; 138,200 (2002) _< `B NA `C fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system `D country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) _> 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) _? .gf _A 3,200 (2002) 
]' _B `! 817 km (1998) _b 3,760 km note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) _C Degrad des Cannes _K `\ 3 _D 11 (2004 est.) _E `! 4 `] 1 `_ 2 `T 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 7 `_ 2 `T 5 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Gendarmerie _] males age 18-49: 47,809 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 38,676 (2005 est.) _N $NA _O NA _G defense is the responsibility of France 
]) _H Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana _I small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe 