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%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1992)

Labor force: 58,800 (1997)

Labor force - by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%,
industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)

Unemployment rate: 21.4% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105
million (1996)

Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum,
gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 430 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 400 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa,
vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry

Exports: $155 million (f.o.b., 1997)

Exports - commodities: shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence,
clothing

Exports - partners: France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997)

Imports: $625 million (c.i.f., 1997)

Imports - commodities: food (grains, processed meat), machinery and
transport equipment, fuels and chemicals

Imports - partners: France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997)

Debt - external: $1.2 billion (1988)

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: euros per US$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999);
French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998),
5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@French Guiana:Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 47,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system:
domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters),
shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998)