Akrotiri (2006) | French Guiana (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | - | 11 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Cayenne |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 378 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Death rate | - | 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | - | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | The economy is tied closely to the much 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 427.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 460.1 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | - | Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | - | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | the flag of France is used |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | - | total: 817 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | - | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | - | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | - | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | - | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | English, Greek | French |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | French legal system |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.09 years
male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 3 |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | - | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | - | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | - | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | - | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | - | 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
195,506 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Degrad des Cannes |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | - | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | - | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |