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France (continued) 

Communications

Railroads: French National Railways (SNCF) operates 34,568 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; 11,674 km electrified, 15,132 km double or multiple track; 2,138 km of various gauges (1.000-meter to 1.440-meter), privately owned and operated

Highways: 1,551,400 km total; 33,400 km national highway; 347,000 km departmental highway; 421,000 km community roads; 750,000 km rural roads; 5,401 km of controlled-access divided autoroutes; about 803,000 km paved

Inland waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,059 km; refined products, 4,487 km; natural gas, 24,746 km

Ports: maritime—Bordeaux, Boulogne, Brest, Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Fos-Sur-Mer, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, Sete, Toulon; inland—42

Merchant marine: 153 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,671,645 GRT/5,950,785 DWT; includes 10 short-sea passenger, 19 cargo, 19 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 30 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 37 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 4 specialized tanker, 17 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note—France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia

Civil air: 355 major transport aircraft (1982)

Airports: 470 total, 460 usable; 204 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 34 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 133 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: highly developed system provides satisfactory telephone, telegraph, radio and TV broadcast services; 39,110,000 telephones; stations—42 AM, 138 (777 relays) FM, 215 TV (8,900 relays); 25 submarine coaxial cables; communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT, 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, EUTELSAT, MARISAT, and domestic systems

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Military manpower: males 15-49, 14,285,904; 12,042,731 fit for military service; 409,544 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP, or $31.1 billion (1989 est.)  French Guiana (overseas department of France)



Geography

Total area: 91,000 km²; land area: 89,150 km²

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: 1,183 km total; Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

Maritime claims:
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Suriname claims area between Rivière Litani and Rivière Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains

Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish

Land use: NEGL% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures; 82% forest and woodland; 18% other

Environment: mostly an unsettled wilderness

People

Population: 97,781 (July 1990), growth rate 3.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—French Guianese (sing., pl.); adjective—French Guiana

Ethnic divisions: 66% black or mulatto; 12% Caucasian; 12% East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian; 10% other

Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic

Language: French

Literacy: 73%

Labor force: 23,265; 60.6% services, government, and commerce, 21.2% industry, 18.2% agriculture (1980)

Organized labor: 7% of labor force

Government

Long-form name: Department of Guiana

Type: overseas department of France

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Executive branch: French president, commissioner of the republic

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral Regional Council Judicial branch: highest local court is the Court of Appeals based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana

Leaders: Chief of State—President François MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981);

Head of Government—Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Pierre LACROIX (since NA August 1988)

Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party (PSG), Gérard Holder; Rally for the Republic (RPR), Paulin Bruné; Guyanese Democratic Action (ADG), André Lecante; Union for French Democracy (UDF), Claude Ho A Chuck; National Front, Guy Malon; Popular and National Party of Guiana (PNPG), Claude Robo; National Anti-Colonist Guianese Party (PANGA), Michel Kapel

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: Regional Council—last held 16 March 1986 (next to be held March 1991); results—PSG 43%, RPR 27.7%, ADG 12.2%, UDF 8.9%, FN 3.7%, PNPG 1.4%, others 3.1%; seats—(31 total) PSG 15, RPR 9, ADG 4, UDF 3;

French Senate—last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(1 total) PSG 1;

French National Assembly—last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(2 total) PSG 1, RPR 1 