Economy of French Guiana
Encyclopedia
The economy of French Guiana
is tied closely to that of France
through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou
, fishing
and forestry
are the most important economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which 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.
GDP:
real exchange rates - US$3.52 billion (in 2006)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.4% (in 2006)
GDP - per capita:
real exchange rates - US$17,336 (in 2006)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2002)
Labor force:
58.800 (1997)
Labor force - by occupation:
services, government, and commerce 60,6%, industry 21,2%, agriculture 18,2% (1980)
Unemployment rate:
19,2% (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$135,5 million
expenditures:
$135,5 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Industries:
construction, shrimp
processing, forestry products, rum
, gold
mining
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
465,2 GWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
432,6 GWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)
Agriculture - products:
rice
, manioc (tapioca
), sugar
, cocoa, vegetables, banana
s; cattle
, pig
s, poultry
Exports:
US$1,501 million (in 2006)
Exports - commodities:
shrimp
, timber, gold
, rum
, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports - partners:
France
62%, Switzerland
7%, United States
2% (2004)
Imports:
US$1,693 million (in 2006)
Imports - commodities:
food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - partners:
France
63%, United States
, Trinidad and Tobago
, Italy
(2004)
Debt - external:
$800,3 million (1988)
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA
Currency:
1 euro
(currency sign
: €
; banking code
: EUR) = 100 cent
Exchange rates:
See: Euro#Euro exchange rate
Fiscal year:
calendar year
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
is tied closely to that of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou
Kourou
Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
are the most important economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
GDP:
real exchange rates - US$3.52 billion (in 2006)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.4% (in 2006)
GDP - per capita:
real exchange rates - US$17,336 (in 2006)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2002)
Labor force:
58.800 (1997)
Labor force - by occupation:
services, government, and commerce 60,6%, industry 21,2%, agriculture 18,2% (1980)
Unemployment rate:
19,2% (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$135,5 million
expenditures:
$135,5 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Industries:
construction, shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
processing, forestry products, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
mining
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
465,2 GWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
432,6 GWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)
Agriculture - products:
rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, manioc (tapioca
Tapioca
Tapioca is a starch extracted Manihot esculenta. This species, native to the Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and most of the West Indies, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, manioc, aipim,...
), sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, cocoa, vegetables, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s; cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
Exports:
US$1,501 million (in 2006)
Exports - commodities:
shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, timber, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports - partners:
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
62%, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
7%, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
2% (2004)
Imports:
US$1,693 million (in 2006)
Imports - commodities:
food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - partners:
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
63%, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(2004)
Debt - external:
$800,3 million (1988)
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA
Currency:
1 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
(currency sign
Currency sign
A currency sign is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currency's name, especially in reference to amounts of money. They typically employ the first letter or character of the currency, sometimes with minor changes such as ligatures or overlaid vertical or horizontal bars...
: €
Euro sign
The euro sign is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone in the European Union . The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. The international three-letter code for the euro is EUR...
; banking code
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
: EUR) = 100 cent
Exchange rates:
See: Euro#Euro exchange rate
Fiscal year:
calendar year