French Guiana (2003) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
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.) |
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 11 (2002) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 21.33 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Cayenne | Freetown |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 378 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 4.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1988) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $203.7 million (1995) |
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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 423.2 million kWh (2001) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 455 million kWh (2001) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.26 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 53 00 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 58,800 (1997) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | French legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 NA 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 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.69 years
male: 73.36 years female: 80.18 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 51,444 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 33,345 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 7.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
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]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 186,917 (July 2003 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.4% (2003 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Roman Catholic | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |
800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |