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French Guiana

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Where it is

Street map of the area around French Guiana; the red dot marks 4°00′00″N 53°00′00″W
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Coordinates: 4°00′00″N 53°00′00″W (4.0000, -53.0000) · Open in OpenStreetMap

Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: French Guiana (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.

It covers 84,000 km² and had 298,554 people as of January 2026, with about half living in the capital Cayenne.[1][2] The population density is 3.6 persons per square kilometer, and forests cover approximately 98.9% of the land.[2]

Last updated 2026-10-06 from the source article.

Key facts and history

The name "Guyana" comes from an indigenous term meaning "land of many waters," and the "French" prefix distinguishes it from neighboring colonial Guianas.[3] French Guiana was developed as a slave society with African laborers on sugar plantations until the National Convention abolished slavery in February 1794.[4] In the late 19th century, a border dispute with Brazil led to the short-lived independent state of Counani, resolved largely by Swiss arbitration.[5] French Guiana rallied to Free France in 1943 and became a French department on 19 March 1946.[6]

A 2010 referendum saw nearly 70% of voters reject becoming an autonomous overseas collectivity, but a second vote approved a "single territorial collectivity".[7] In 1930, the interior region called Inini was established as a separate territory; six years later, Félix Éboué, who was born in Cayenne, became the first black governor appointed in any French colony.[8] A movement for independence was started by high school students in 1996, and the following year twelve leaders of that movement were deported to Guadeloupe.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Christiane Taubira, "FICHE QUESTION", Questions National Assembly of France, 28 April 2009; "Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density", United Nations, 2013, p. 5; "French Guiana country profile", BBC News, 22 October 2023; "Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density", United Nations, 2013, p. 5; "Estimation de population par région, sexe et grande classe d'âge – Années 1975 à 2026", INSEE (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "FAOSTAT – Land Use", Food and Agriculture Organization (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Guyana", Oxford Dictionaries (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Peabody, "French Emancipation", Oxford Bibliographies (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carlos A. Parodi, "The Politics of South American Boundaries", Praeger Publishers, 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thabouillot, "Être chef de poste en Inini (1930–1969)", Persée, 2011, p. 48; "Loi n° 46-451 du 19 mars 1946 tendant au classement comme départements français de la Guadeloupe, de la Martinique, de la Réunion et de la Guyane française", Government of the French Republic, 19 March 1946 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The General Council adopts the Guyanese flag", 97320.com, 26 January 2010; "French Guiana and Martinique reject increased autonomy", BBC, 11 January 2010; "French Guiana, Martinique vote against more autonomy", France 24, 11 January 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Création de territoire en Guyane françaises", Journal officiel de la Guyane française via Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 6 June 1930; "Meet Felix Eboué, First Black Man Appointed Governor In Ihe French Colonies", How Africa; "La Guyane retrouve la mémoire en changeant le nom de l'aéroport", Le Monde (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "French Guiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Rockets in the Jungle: How French Guiana Launched a Struggle for Independence", Pulitzercenter.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article French Guiana (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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