Communists: Communist party membership negligible
Member of: 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 about two-thirds of
total revenue in 1985. 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, with an
unemployment rate of 15%.
GDP: $210 million, per capita $3,230; real growth rate NA% (1982)
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: $37.0 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities—shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence; partners—US 41%, Japan 18%, France 9% (1984)
Imports: $297.7 million (c.i.f., 1986); commodities—food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods, producer goods, petroleum; partners—France 55%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, US 3% (1984)
External debt: $1.2 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 92,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 1,950 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Agriculture: some vegetables for local consumption; rice, corn, manioc, cocoa, bananas, sugar
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.1 billion
Currency: French franc (plural—francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1—5.7598 (January 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: 11 total, 11 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
Military manpower: males 15-49 27,866;
18,430 fit for military service
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
French Polynesia
(overseas territory of France)
_French_Polynesia.jpg)
See regional map X
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:
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical, but moderate
Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt
Land use: 1% arable land; 19% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 31% forest and woodland; 44% other
Environment: occasional cyclonic storm in January; includes five archipelagoes
Note: Makatea is one of three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific (others are Banaba or Ocean Island in Kiribati and Nauru)
People
Population: 190,181 (July 1990), growth
rate 2.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 71 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—French Polynesian(s); adjective—French Polynesian
Ethnic divisions: 78% Polynesian, 12% Chinese, 6% local French, 4% metropolitan French
105
