French Guiana ( none) is a country in Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname. French Guiana geographic coordinates 4 00 N, 53 00 W; area 89,150 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than Indiana; land boundaries Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km; coastline 378 km; maritime claims exclusive economic zone:<; climate tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation; terrain low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains; elevation extremes Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m; natural resources bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay; land use 99.81% (90% forest; 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;

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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. government type NA; capital Cayenne; administrative divisions none (overseas department of France); independence none (overseas department of France); national holiday Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); constitution 28 September 1958 (French Constitution); legal system French legal system; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

French Guiana population 195,506 (July 2005 est.); age structure 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.); median age 27.31 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.1% (2005 est.); birth rate 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 80.58 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate NA%; hiv people with aids NA; hiv deaths NA; nationality French Guianese; ethnic groups black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%; religions Roman Catholic; languages French; literacy 82% (1982 est.);

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