Merchant marine:
total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 749,570 GRT/939,134 DWT
ships by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 9, liquefied gas 4,
passenger 2, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea
passenger 4
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: French Polynesia 2, Greece 1, Japan 1, Norway 1, Sweden
9 (2002 est.)
Airports:
477 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 273 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 914 to 1,523 m: 80 under 914 m: 57 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 95
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 204 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 74 under 914 m: 128 (2002)
Heliports: 3 (2002)
Military France
Military branches:
Army (includes marines), Navy (includes naval air), Air Force
(includes Air Defense), National Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age:
18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15–49: 14,523,208 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 12,079,413 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 392,824 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$46.5 billion (2000)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.57% (2002)
Transnational Issues France
Disputes - international:
Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
and Juan de Nova 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,
Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
======================================================================
@French Guiana
Introduction French Guiana
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.
Geography French Guiana
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
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: 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: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.)
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:
186,917 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 29.9% (male 28,565; female 27,280)
15–64 years: 64.4% (male 64,836; female 55,498)
65 years and over: 5.7% (male 5,455; female 5,283) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 28.2 years
male: 29.2 years
female: 27.1 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
2.4% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
21.33 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
4.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
7.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.84 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.69 years
male: 73.36 years
female: 80.18 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.09 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS