¹ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers

Image:Flag of France.svg

French Guiana (French: Guyane française, officially Guyane) is an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France, located on the northern coast of South America. Like the other DOMs, French Guiana is also a région (région d'outre-mer) of France. As a part of France, French Guiana is in the European Union, and its currency is the euro.<ref>French Guiana is pictured on all euro banknotes, on the reverse at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomination.</ref>

French Guiana is the smallest political entity on the South American mainland (Suriname is the smallest independent South American country). It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. (Part of the border with Suriname is disputed.)

1 History
2 Politics
3 Administrative divisions
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Demographics
7 Notable People
8 Bibliography
9 Notes
10 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of French Guiana

First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of penal settlements until 1951.

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[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of French Guiana

French Guiana, as part of France, is part of the European Union, the largest part in area outside Europe, with one of the longest E.U. external boundaries and a part of the Union outside Europe that is not an island along with the Spanish enclaves in Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. The Head of State is the President of France, who appoints a Préfet (resident at the Prefecture building in Cayenne) as his/her representative. There are two legislative bodies: the 19-member General Council and the 34-member Regional Council, both elected. French Guiana has two seats at the National Assembly in Paris. French Guiana has traditionally been conservative, though the socialist party has been increasingly successful in recent years. Though many would like to see more autonomy for the region, support for complete independence is very low.

A chronic issue affecting French Guiana is the influx of illegal immigrants and clandestine gold prospectors from Brazil and Suriname. The border between the département and Suriname is formed by the Maroni River, which flows through rainforest and is difficult for the French Gendarmerie to patrol. The border line with Suriname is disputed.

[edit] Administrative divisions

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Administratively, French Guiana is divided into arrondissements, cantons, and communes:

See also: French overseas departments and territories and Administrative divisions of France

[edit] Geography

Image:French Guiana CIA.gif

Main article: Geography of French Guiana

Though sharing cultural affinities with the French-speaking territories of the Caribbean, French Guiana cannot be considered to be part of that region, since the Caribbean Sea actually lies several hundred miles to the west, beyond the arc of the Lesser Antilles.

French Guiana consists of two main geographical regions: a coastal strip where the majority of the people live, and dense, near-inaccessible rainforest which gradually rises to the modest peaks of the Tumac-Humac mountains along the Brazilian frontier. French Guiana's highest peak is Bellevue de l'Inini (851 m / 2,792 ft). Other mountains include Mont Machalou (782 m / 2,566 ft), Pic Coudreau (711 m / 2,333 ft) and Mont St Marcel (635 m / 2,083 ft), Mont Favard (200 m / 656 ft) and Montagne du Mahury (156 m / 512 ft). Several small islands are found off the coast, the three Iles du Salut Salvation Islands which includes Devil's Island and the isolated Ile de Connetable bird sanctury further along the coast towards Brazil.

The Barrage de Petit-Saut hydroelectric dam in the north of French Guiana forms an artificial lake and provides hydroelectricity. There are many rivers in French Guiana.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of French Guiana

French Guiana is heavily dependent on France for subsidies and goods. The main industries are fishing (accounting for three-quarters of foreign exports), gold mining and timber. In addition, the European Space Centre at Kourou accounts for 25% of the GDP and employs about 1700 people. There is very little manufacturing and agriculture is largely undeveloped. Tourism, especially eco-tourism, is growing. Unemployment is a major problem, running at about 20% to 30%.

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[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of French Guiana

French Guiana's population of 200 000 (2006 est.), most of whom live along the coast, is very ethnically diverse. Estimates of the percentages of French Guiana ethnic composition vary, a problem compounded by the large numbers of legal and illegal immigrants (about 20,000).

Mulattos (People of mixed black and white ancestry) are the largest ethnic group, though estimates vary as to the exact percentage, depending upon whether the large Haitian community is included as well. Generally the Creole population is judged at about 60% to 70% of the total population with Haitians (comprising roughly one-third of Creoles) and 30% to 50% without. Roughly 14% are Europeans, the vast majority of whom are French.

The main Asian communities are the Hmong from Laos (1.5%) and Chinese (3.2%, primarily from Hong Kong and Zhejiang province). There are also smaller groups from various Caribbean islands, mainly Saint Lucia. The main groups living in the interior are the Maroons (also called Bush Negroes) and Amerindians.

The Maroons, descendents of escaped African slaves, live primarily along the Maroni River. The main Maroon groups are the Paramacca, Aucan (both of whom also live in Suriname) and the Boni (Aluku).

The main Amerindian groups (forming about 3%-4% of the population) are the Arawak, Emerillon, Galibi (now called the Kaliña), Palikour, Wayampi (also known as Oyampi) and Wayana.

The predominant religion in the country is Roman Catholicism, though the Maroons and some Amerindian peoples still practice their own religions. The Hmong people are also mainly Catholic owing to the influence of Catholic missionaries who helped bring them to French Guiana.

[edit] Notable People

Florent Malouda, French international football player.
Henri Charriere, an escaped French convict, imprisoned in and around French Guiana from 1933 to 1945.
Malia Metella, French swimmer, SC European Championships 2004: 1st 100m free.
Bernard Lama, former French international football player.
Cyrille Regis, former West Bromwich Albion and England player.

[edit] Bibliography

France's Overseas Frontier : Les Départements et territoires d'outre-mer Robert Aldrich and John Connell
Dry guillotine: Fifteen years among the living dead René Belbenoit, 1938, Reprint: Berkley (1975). ISBN 0-425-02950-6
Hell on Trial René Belbenoit, 1940, Translated from the Original French Manuscript by Preston Rambo. E. P Dutton & Co. Reprint by Blue Ribbon Books, New York, 194 p. Reprint: Bantam Books, 1971
Papillon Henri Charrière Reprints: Hart-Davis Macgibbon Ltd. 1970. ISBN 0-246-63987-3 (hbk); Perennial, 2001. ISBN 0-06-093479-4 (sbk)
Space in the Tropics: From Convicts to Rockets in French Guiana Peter Redfield

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

General information

Gabe's French Guiana with information and many photos
French Guiana at the Open Directory Project
US Consular Information Sheet
CIA World Factbook entry on French Guiana

Other

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French overseas departments and territories

Overseas departments¹
Guadeloupe² • French Guiana • Martinique • Réunion

Overseas communities | Special status
Mayotte³ • French Polynesia⁴ • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon⁵ • Wallis and Futuna⁶ | New Caledonia

Uninhabited lands
French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Amsterdam Island • Saint-Paul Island • Crozet Islands • Kerguelen Islands • Adélie Land • Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean) •
Clipperton (French Polynesia)

¹ These overseas departments are also overseas regions (régions d'outre-mer). ² Guadeloupe currently includes Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin which in 2003 voted to become separate overseas communities (collectivités d'outre-mer) ; the change will be implemented in early 2007. ³ "Departmental community" (collectivité départementale). ⁴ "Overseas country" (Pays d'outre-mer). ⁵ "Territorial community" (collectivité territoriale). ⁶ Territory (territoire).

Image:Flag of France.svg

Régions of France

Alsace • Aquitaine • Auvergne • Bourgogne • Bretagne • Centre • Champagne-Ardenne • Corsica • Franche-Comté • Île-de-France • Languedoc-Roussillon • Limousin • Lorraine • Midi-Pyrénées • Nord-Pas de Calais • Basse-Normandie • Haute-Normandie • Pays de la Loire • Picardie • Poitou-Charentes • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur • Rhône-Alpes

Overseas Régions: French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Réunion

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Francophonie

Image:Flag of La Francophonie.svg

Members: Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • New Brunswick • Quebec • Ontario • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana • Guadeloupe • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali • Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Niger • Republic of the Congo • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo • Tunisia • Ukraine • Vanuatu • Vietnam

Observers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia • Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Ukraine

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Countries of South America

Argentina • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Ecuador • Guyana • Panama^* • Paraguay • Peru • Suriname • Trinidad and Tobago^* • Uruguay • Venezuela

Dependencies: Aruba (Netherlands)^* • Falkland Islands (UK) • French Guiana • Netherlands Antilles^* • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK)

* Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas, i.e. North America.

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Outlying territories of European countries

Territories under European sovereignty but closer to continents other than Europe (see inclusion criteria for further information)
Denmark	Greenland
France	Clipperton Island • French Guiana • French Polynesia • French Southern and Antarctic Lands • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Mayotte • New Caledonia • Réunion • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean • Wallis and Futuna
Italy	Pantelleria • Pelagie Islands
Netherlands	Aruba • Netherlands Antilles
Norway	Bouvet Island
Portugal	Azores • Madeira
Spain	Ceuta • Melilla • Plazas de soberanía • Canary Islands
United Kingdom	Anguilla • Bermuda • British Virgin Islands • Cayman Islands • Falkland Islands • Montserrat • Saint Helena • Tristan da Cunha • Turks and Caicos Islands • British Indian Ocean Territory • Pitcairn Islands • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands