es age 15-49: 14,619,317 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 12,167,421 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 402,987 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $39.831 billion (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (FY97)
@France:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa
Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island;
Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial
dispute between Suriname and French Guiana; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Adelie Land); Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New
Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for and consumer of South American
cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin
______________________________________________________________________
FRENCH GUIANA
@French Guiana:Introduction
Background: 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.
@French Guiana:Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between Brazil and Suriname
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 53 00 W
Map references: South America
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:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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), cinnabar,
kaolin, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 90%
other: 10% (1996 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe
thunderstorms; flooding
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: mostly an unsettled wilderness
@French Guiana:People
Population: 172,605 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 27,116; female 25,902)
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