Compare Pacific Ocean (2003) - French Guiana (2005)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2003) z French Guiana (2005)

	Pacific Ocean (2003)	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: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies	total: 91,000 sq km land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km
Area - comparative	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	slightly smaller than Indiana
Background	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.	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	-	Cayenne
Climate	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December	tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	135,663 km	378 km
Constitution	-	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	-	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 department of France
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	none (overseas department of France)
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA
Economy - overview	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.	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: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	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: 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 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	0 00 N, 160 00 W	4 00 N, 53 00 W
Geography - note	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean	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: 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	-	French
Legal system	-	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	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Map references	Political Map of the World	South America
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	registered in other countries: 3
Military - note	-	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	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December	high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Natural resources	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	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	-	195,506 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	2.1% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)	Degrad des Cannes
Radio broadcast stations	-	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	-	3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest	low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Total fertility rate	-	3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Transportation - note	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)	-
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)

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