SearchTraveling Luck for French Guiana. French Guiana, South America
French Guiana is located in Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname.
Land in French Guiana is low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains.
French Guianese land covers an area of 91000 square kilometers which is slightly smaller than Indiana
French Guiana has borders with Brazil for 673km and Suriname for 510km.
French Guianese national flag (Flag of French Guiana)
French Guiana country profile
Travel advice for French GuianaAs for the French Guianese climate; tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation.
French Guianese (singular and plural) speak French.
Places of note in French Guiana
French Guianese map
Regions of French Guiana
First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou.
The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that 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.
French Guianese natural resources include bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay
mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent
French Guianese religion is Roman Catholic.
Natural hazards in French Guiana include high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding.
Travel Advice for French Guiana
French GuianaSUMMARY
- French Guiana is a French Overseas Territory. There is no formal British diplomatic or consular representation. The General section of this travel advice gives you more information.
- The threat from terrorism is low. But you should be aware of the global risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks which could be against civilian targets, including places frequented by foreigners.
- Although the risk from crime is also low, it does exist and you should take normal common-sense precautions.
- You must produce a Yellow Fever certificate on arrival.
- Around 50 British nationals visit French Guiana each year. Most visits are trouble-free. We are not aware of any British nationals who have required consular assistance in the last year.
- The rainy season in French Guiana, during which tropical storms may occur, takes place between December and July.
- We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling to French Guiana. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. Please see: Travel Insurance.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
GENERAL