GUYANE - Population
Highest population in France
French Guiana is the biggest French region in terms of area, but the smallest in terms of population. The population of French Guiana accounts for 0.3% of the population of France. The expanse of the territory coupled with the low population means that French Guiana is very sparsely populated: 1.9 inhabitants/km2.
Nevertheless, French Guiana has had record increases in its population. Between 1990 and 1999 French Guiana ?s population grew at an average rate of 3.6% per year. The population count was 114 678 inhabitants at the 1990 census. With over 157 000 inhabitants in 1999, the population is estimated at 167 000 at the beginning of 2001. And the population forecast estimates that there will be 426 000 inhabitants in French Guiana in 2030, higher than the forecast for Martinique. This dynamic demography, unequalled by any other region of France, is due to two powerful drivers: immigration (annual net migration is estimated at + 1 200) and the birth rate (roughly 5 000 live births per year).
- Immigration is mainly from its two neighbouring countries, Surinam and Brazil, but also from countries of the Caribbean, like Haiti, and also from the metropolitan. Between 1982 and 1990 there was a net immigration of 24 911 persons. The annual increase in population attributable to immigration was 0.82% between 1967 and 1974, rising to 3.46% between 1982 and 1990. Between 1990 and 1999 French Guiana ?s net migration surplus grew at an average rate of 0.84% per year.
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- The population of French Guiana is decidedly multiethnic. American Indians (Galibi, Wayana, Oyampi), Maroons, Creoles and native French all form part of a patchwork of peoples. More recent incomers are the Hmong and the refugees from Suriname. There is also a significant community of immigrant workers from Brazil, Haiti, Guyana and St Lucia. In 1999 nearly 30% of French Guiana?s was foreign. EU nationals accounted just 1.8% of the foreign population.
Compared to 1990 the number of live births grew from 3 600 to 4 900 in 1999 (+36%). In 2000 the number of births was 5 100 (+4.1% compared to 1999). In 1999 the crude birth rate was 31.0 live births per 1 000 inhabitants. The high birth rate is partly due to the high fertility rate of foreign immigrant women. In general the fertility rate remains stable around 3.8 children per women, whereas usually a rapid decrease is seen in countries with a high fertility rate. With half the population under 25 years of age, this extremely youthful population is a natural consequence of the high fertility rate. 44% of the population is aged between 25 and 59 years, and so only 6% are aged 60 or more.
The crude death rate is 4.1 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to the national average of 9.1. However the infant mortality rate (10.2 deaths of children under 1 year old per 1 000 live births) is much above the national average (4.4).
Such an increase in the population creates a tension between the needs that is induces and the real extension capacity of the public services and housing. The construction of education establishments manages almost to follow the rhythm, but housing, especially social housing is having trouble.
The population of French Guiana is not eager to wed. Indeed married couples are in the minority. In 1999 less than 27% of French Guiana's inhabitants over 15 years of age were married, and nearly a third of families are single parent families. In 1999 82% of babies were born out of wedlock.
The coastal strip: Cayenne and Kourou
The population of French Guiana is very unevenly distributed. 66% of the population is concentrated in three conurbations: Cayenne, Kourou and Saint-Laurent du Maroni. Cayenne and Saint-Laurent have always been heavily populated areas, with the regional administration centred in Cayenne and the penal colony and its administration in Saint-Laurent. The region's economy is focused in two main centres, Cayenne and Kourou, which provide 70% of jobs.
The municipality of Cayenne has developed into a sizeable city as a result of its position as capital and administrative centre of French Guiana. It had 50 594 inhabitants in 1999, 32% of the region's population. A large number of firms have set up in Cayenne as the town is close to exit points for trade which are the ports of Larivot and Dégrad-des-Cannes and the international airport.
Kourou has benefited greatly from the development of the Guiana Space Centre, which is a pole of attraction for labour, trade and industry. The population of Kourou and the neighbouring municipality of Sinnamary practically doubled between 1982 and 1990. In 1999 there were 19 107 inhabitants in the municipality of Kourou, ranking it the third largest municipality after Cayenne and Saint-Laurent du Maroni.
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