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.
Location: Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname. 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.
Climate and Terrain: Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation. Terrain: Low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains. Natural resources: Bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish.
People: Population: 186,917. Ethnic groups: Black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%. Religions: Roman Catholic. Languages: French.
Government: Dependency status: Overseas department of France. Capital: Cayenne.
Economy overview: The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 47,000. Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters). Radios: 104,000. Television broadcast stations: 3. Televisions: 30,000. Internet users: 2,000. Railways: 0 km. Highways: Total: 722 km. Airports - with paved runways: 4, with unpaved runways: 7.