French Guiana is a territory in South America, and it is not a sovereign state in its own right. Treaties and official documents call it Guiana. Its seat of government is Cayenne.
It covers 83,534 km², which ranks it 118th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind the United Arab Emirates and just ahead of Czechia. For scale, it is almost exactly the same size as Austria.
It is home to roughly 300,000 people, placing it 184th of 250 by population — between Mayotte above it and New Caledonia below. Measured only against its own subregion, it is 13th of 14 in size and 13th in population.
The lie of the land
The coordinates the dataset gives are 4.0° N, 53.0° W, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 445 km from the equator, in what geographers would call the equatorial belt.
Countries on the same parallel, far away in longitude, include Cameroon, Malaysia and Equatorial Guinea.
It borders 2 neighbours: Brazil and Suriname. The largest of them by area is Brazil, which is also the most populous. Together those neighbours hold about 212.6 million people.
It has both a coastline and land borders, which is the most common arrangement of all.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The people of French Guiana
Density comes out at around 3.6 people per square kilometre, which makes it very thinly populated. The median across all 250 entries here is about 90 per square kilometre.
The demonym is Guianan, so residents are Guianans.
French is the only official language. Another 45 entries list French too — among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi.
Against the Americas as a whole it is the 32nd most populous of 56 entries, and it accounts for under 1% of everyone living in South America.
Useful reference details
The currency is the Euro (€, EUR). Another 37 entries use the same currency — Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Croatia among them — so exchange rates move for reasons that have nothing to do with French Guiana.
Cayenne is the city to remember for this territory.
Its internet country code is .gf. Calls from overseas start with +594. In ISO terms it is gf in two letters and GUF in three.
On the UN list it does not appear as a member. Its official name points to France as the administering state. Of the 250 entries here, 57 are territories or observers rather than member states.
Neighbouring countries
French Guiana shares borders with 2 countries:
Fun facts about French Guiana
- Its currency, the Euro, is shared with 37 other entries.
- It lies about 445 km from the equator, in equatorial latitudes.
- Cameroon and Malaysia sit at almost the same latitude, on the far side of the globe.
- Its capital city is Cayenne.
- It is 184th of 250 by population, with about 300,000 residents.
- Ranked by land area, French Guiana is 118th out of the 250 countries and territories on this site.
- It shares land borders with 2 countries: Brazil and Suriname.
- Population density works out at roughly 3.6 people per square kilometre.
French Guiana — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of French Guiana?
- The capital of French Guiana is Cayenne.
- Where is French Guiana located?
- French Guiana is in South America, part of the Americas. Its reference coordinates are 4.0° north and 53.0° west, roughly 445 km from the equator in equatorial latitudes.
- What language is spoken in French Guiana?
- The official language of French Guiana is French. It is also official in 45 other entries on this list.
- Is French Guiana a country?
- Not in the political sense. French Guiana is a dependent territory rather than a sovereign state, and it is not a UN member. The dataset points to France as the administering state. It appears on this site because it has its own flag, codes and statistics, but it does not have a seat at the United Nations.
- What is the population of French Guiana?
- French Guiana has a population of about 300,000, which makes it the 184th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. Mayotte sits just above it and New Caledonia just below.
- How big is French Guiana?
- French Guiana covers 83,534 km², ranking 118th of 250 by land area. That makes it almost exactly the same size as Austria.
- Which countries border French Guiana?
- French Guiana borders 2 countries: Brazil and Suriname. Brazil is the largest of them by area.
- What currency does French Guiana use?
- French Guiana uses the Euro, written € (currency code EUR). It is shared with 37 other entries.
