French Guiana is heavily dependent on mainland France for subsidies, trade, and goods.

The main industries are fishing (accounting for three-quarters of foreign exports), gold mining and timber. In addition, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou accounts for 25% of the GDP and employs about 1,700 people.

There is very little manufacturing. Agriculture is largely undeveloped and is mainly confined to the area near the coast — sugar and bananas are two of the main cash crops grown.

Economic Conditions

In 2008, the GDP of French Guiana at market exchange rates was US$4.72 billion (€3.21 billion), ranking as the largest economy in the Guianas, and the 11th largest in South America.

Tourism, especially eco-tourism, is growing. Unemployment is a major problem, running at about 20% to 30%.

In 2008, the GDP per capita of French Guiana at market exchange rates, not at PPP, was US$20,904 (€14,204), the highest in South America, but only 47% of Metropolitan France’s average GDP per capita that year.

Agriculture

Guiana has some of the poorest soils in the world. The soil is low in nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, potassium) and organic matter. Soil acidity is another cause of the poor soils, and it requires farmers to add lime to their fields.

All of these soil characteristics have led to the use of slash and burn agriculture. The resulting ashes elevate soil pH (i.e. lower soil acidity), and contribute minerals and other nutrients to the soil.

Sites of Terra preta (anthropogenic soils) have been discovered in Guiana, particularly near the border with Brazil. Research is being actively pursued in multiple fields to determine how these enriched soils were historically created, and how this can be done in modern times.

Transportation

French Guiana’s main international airport is Cayenne-Rochambeau Airport, located in the commune of Matoury, a southern suburb of Cayenne. There are two flights a day to Paris (Orly Airport), served by Air France and Air Caraïbes. The flight time from Cayenne to Paris is 8 hours and 25 minutes, and from Paris to Cayenne it is 9 hours and 10 minutes. There are also flights to Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre, Port-au-Prince, Miami and Belém.

French Guiana’s main seaport is the port of Dégrad des Cannes, located on the estuary of the Mahury River, in the commune of Remire-Montjoly, a south-eastern suburb of Cayenne. Almost all of French Guiana’s imports and exports pass through the port of Dégrad des Cannes. Built in 1969, it replaced the old harbour of Cayenne which was congested and could not cope with modern traffic.

An asphalted road from Régina to Saint-Georges de l’Oyapock (a town by the Brazilian border) was opened in 2004, completing the road from Cayenne to the Brazilian border. It is now possible to drive on a fully paved road from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Surinamese border to Saint-Georges de l’Oyapock on the Brazilian border.

Following an international treaty between France and Brazil signed in July 2005, the Oyapock River Bridge over the Oyapock River (marking the border with Brazil) is currently being built and is due to open in 2011.

This bridge will be the first land crossing ever opened between France and Brazil, and indeed between French Guiana and the rest of the world. No other bridge exists across the Oyapock River and no bridge crossing the Maroni River marking the border with Suriname however, there is a ferry crossing to Albina, Suriname. When the bridge is opened, it will be possible to drive uninterrupted from Cayenne to Macapá, the capital of the state of Amapá in Brazil.