00 N, 53 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 91,000 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km
land: 89,150 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

Elevation 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

Land use:
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05%
other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of
the South American continent

People French Guiana

Population:
191,309 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020)
65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 28.3 years
male: 29.4 years
female: 27.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.25% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years
female: 80.38 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French