French Guyana
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Guiana Guyane (French) |
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| Overseas region and department of France | |||
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| Country |
 France
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| Prefecture | Cayenne | ||
| Departments | 1 | ||
| Government | |||
| • President of the Assembly | Rodolphe Alexandre (PSG) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) | ||
| Population (January 2013) | |||
| • Total | 250,109 | ||
| • Density | 3.0/km2 (7.8/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | French Guianan, Guianan | ||
| Time zone | GFT (UTC-03) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | GF | ||
| GDP (2012) | Ranked 27th | ||
| Total | €3.8 billion (US$4.9 bn) | ||
| Per capita | €15,400 (US$20,000) | ||
| NUTS Region | FRA | ||
| Website |
Prefecture Territorial collectivity |
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French Guiana (pronounced /ɡiːˈɑːnə/ or /ɡiːˈænə/, French: Guyane française; French pronunciation: [ɡɥijan fʁɑ̃sɛz]), officially called Guiana (French: Guyane), is an overseas department and region of France, located on the north Atlantic coast of South America in the Guyanas. It borders Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. Its 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) area has a very low population density of only 3 inhabitants per km2, with half of its 244,118 inhabitants in 2013 living in the metropolitan area of Cayenne, its capital. By land area, it is the second largest region of France and the largest outermost region within the European Union.
The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The first French establishment is recorded in 1503 but the French presence didn't really become durable until 1643 and the foundation of Cayenne. Guiana then became a slave colony and saw its population increase until the official abolition of slavery at the time of the French revolution. Guiana temporarily became a French department in 1797 but is gradually transformed into a penal colony with the establishment of a network of camps and penitentiaries spread over the coast, where prisoners are sentenced to forced labor. During the World War II, the Guianan Félix Éboué was one of the first to stand behind General de Gaulle as early as June 18, 1940. Guiana officially rallied Free France in 1943. It definitively abandoned its status as a colony and became again a French department in 1946. De Gaulle, who became president, decided to establish the Guiana Space Center in 1965. It is now operated by the CNES, Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA). Several thousand Hmong refugees from Laos migrated to French Guiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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