March 1998 (next to
be held NA 2004)

election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - NA; 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 NA September 2007); results - percent of vote
by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the
French National Assembly on 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA
2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR
1, PSG 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: Guianese Socialist Party or PSG
[Antoine KARAM]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY];
Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party
or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG); Walwari
Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of
France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of
France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

French Guiana Economy

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. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully
exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,000 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA