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Updates: 

The results of the census of French Guiana, taken on March 8, 1999, have been published. They are shown in the table below.

Country overview: 

Short name	FRENCH GUIANA
ISO code	GF
FIPS code	FG
Language	French (fr)
Time zone	-3
Capital	Cayenne

 

French Guiana has been linked to France throughout the 20th century, first as a colony, then as a remote but integral part of the country. French Guiana has a NUTS code of FR93 (as a region, or FR930 as a department), a department code of 973, and postal codes of the form 973xx, all of which are extensions of the French system.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Fransk Guyana
2. Dutch: Frans Guyana
3. English: Department of Guiana (formal)
4. French: Guyane f française
5. German: Französisch-Guayana
6. Icelandic: Franska Gvæjana
7. Italian: Guyana f Francese, Guayana Francese (variant)
8. Norwegian: Guiana
9. Portuguese: Guiana f Francesa
10. Spanish: Guayana f Francesa
11. Swedish: Franska Guyana
12. Turkish: Fransız Guyanası

Origin of name: 

Descriptive: French colony in the Guyana area.

Primary subdivisions: 

French Guiana is divided into two arrondissements.

Name	HASC	INSEE	Pop-1999	Pop-1974	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
Cayenne	GF.CY	9731	119,660	45,892	49,500	19,100
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni	GF.SL	9732	37,553	9,233	40,500	15,600
2 arrondissements			157,213	55,125	90,000	34,700
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. INSEE: Arrondissement code according to Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques. Pop-1999: 1999-03-08 census. Pop-1974: 1974 census. Capitals have the same names as their arrondissements.

Further subdivisions:

See the Communes of French Guiana page.

The arrondissements are further subdivided into 22 communes and 19 cantons.

Territorial extent: 

Most of French Guiana's islands belong to Cayenne. They include the Îles Connétable, Îles Rémire, and Îles du Salut, one of which is Devil's Island (Île du Diable).

Origins of names: 

Cayenne: Old French cayenne: seaport hostelry.

Change history: 

1. 1930-07-06: French Guiana divided into two territories, French Guiana (along the Atlantic coast; estimated area 20,000 km.²) and Inini (inland; 70,000 km.²).
2. 1947-01-01: French Guiana and Inini reunited, changed from colony to département d'outre-mer (overseas department). Nominally, this status is on a par with the metropolitan French departments.
3. 1951-09-14: French Guiana subdivided into two arrondissements, Cayenne (along the Atlantic coast; 12,500 km.²) and Inini (inland; 78,500 km.²).
4. 1969-03-17: French Guiana reorganized into two arrondissements, Cayenne and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. Both began at the coast and extended inland to the southern end of the country; thus, new Cayenne was neither a subdivision nor an enlargement of old Cayenne.
5. 1982-12-31: French Guiana, while remaining an overseas department, became also a region of France.