Demographics of French Guiana

French Guiana’s population of 229,000 (January 2009 est.), most of whom live along the coast, is very ethnically diverse.

At the 1999 census, 54.4% of the inhabitants of French Guiana were born in French Guiana, 11.8% were born in Metropolitan France, 5.2% were born in the French Caribbean départements (Guadeloupe and Martinique), and 28.6% were born in foreign countries (primarily Brazil, Suriname, and Haiti).

Ethnic Groups

Estimates of the percentages of French Guiana ethnic composition vary, a situation compounded by the large proportion of immigrants (about 20,000, nearly 10%).

Mulattoes (people of mixed African and French ancestry) are the largest ethnic group, though estimates vary as to the exact percentage, depending upon whether the large Haitian community is included as well. Generally the Creole population is judged to be about 60% to 70% of the total population if Haitians (comprising roughly one-third of Creoles) are included, and 30% to 50% without.

Roughly 14% of the population is of European ancestry. The vast majority of these are of French heritage, though there are also people of Dutch, British, Spanish and Portuguese ancestry.

The main Asian communities are the Chinese (3.2%, primarily from Zhejiang province in mainland China and Hong Kong) and Hmong from Laos (1.5%). There are also smaller groups from various Caribbean islands, mainly Saint Lucia as well as Dominica. Other Asian groups include East Indians, Lebanese and Vietnamese.

The main groups living in the interior are the Maroons (formerly called “Bush Negroes”) who are racially black African, and Amerindians. The Maroons, descendants of escaped African slaves, live primarily along the Maroni River. The main Maroon groups are the Saramaca, Aucan (both of whom also live in Suriname), and Boni (Aluku).

The main Amerindian groups (forming about 3%–4% of the population) are the Arawak, Carib, Emerillon, Galibi (now called the Kaliña), Palikour, Wayampi and Wayana. As of late 1990s, there was evidence of an uncontacted group of Wayampi.

Cities & Main Settlements

Settlements by population in parentheses (2007):

  • Cayenne, the administrative capital of French Guiana (58,369)
  • Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, located on the Maroni river, which forms the natural border between Surinam and French Guyana (34,336)
  • Kourou, the city which hosts the space center and Arianespace (25,918)
  • Matoury (25,191)
  • Remire-Montjoly (18,947)
  • Mana (8,322)
  • Macouria (8,386)
  • Apatou (6,360)
  • Maripasoula (5,584)
  • Saint-Georges, on the Oyapock river, which is the natural border between Brazil and French Guyana (3,692)
  • Grand-Santi (3,430)
  • Sinnamary (3,137)

Language

The official language of French Guiana is French, but a number of other local languages exist. Regional languages include French Guiana creole, six Amerindian languages (Arawak, Palikur, Kali’na, Wayana, Wayampi, Emerillon), four Maroon dialects (Saramaka, Paramaccan, Boni, Djuka), as well as Hmong Njua. Other languages spoken include Portuguese, Hakka, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Dutch and English.

Religion

The dominant religion of French Guiana is Roman Catholicism; the Maroons and some Amerindian people maintain their own religions. The Hmong people are also mainly Catholic owing to the influence of missionaries who helped bring them to French Guiana.