Demographics of French Guiana

The Demographics of French Guiana are characterized by a young population with 44% below the age of 20 in 2017. The total population stood at 268,700 as of 1 January 2017. The demographic profile is a reflection of the territory's high fertility rates. Regarding nationality, as of 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% were of foreign nationality with significant communities from Suriname, Haiti, and Brazil among others.

Population

According to INSEE the population of French Guiana was 268,700 as of 1 January 2017. The population is very young: 44% are below the age of 20, while only 1.7% are 75 years or older. The age distribution is a reflection of the high fertility rates of French Guiana.

Structure of the population

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	113 824	116 617	230 441	100
0-4	14 591	13 849	28 440	12.34
5-9	14 090	13 618	27 708	12.02
10-14	12 843	12 024	24 867	10.79
15-19	10 729	10 672	21 401	9.29
20-24	7 728	8 478	16 206	7.03
25-29	7 281	9 109	16 390	7.11
30-34	7 692	8 676	16 368	7.10
35-39	7 877	8 865	16 742	7.27
40-44	7 415	7 650	15 065	6.54
45-49	6 698	6 582	13 280	5.76
50-54	5 397	5 148	10 545	4.58
55-59	4 207	4 107	8 314	3.61
60-64	2 931	2 684	5 615	2.44
65-69	1 740	1 693	3 433	1.49
70-74	1 083	1 260	2 343	1.02
75-79	752	974	1 726	0.75
80-84	433	619	1 052	0.46
85-89	225	402	627	0.27
90-94	77	144	221	0.10
95+	35	63	98	0.04
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	41 524	39 491	81 015	35.16
15-64	67 955	71 971	139 926	60.72
65+	4 345	5 155	9 500	4.12

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	128 973	130 892	259 865	100
0–4	14 800	14 161	28 961	11.14
5–9	15 050	14 512	29 563	11.38
10–14	14 151	14 085	28 237	10.87
15–19	12 158	11 784	23 941	9.21
20–24	8 960	9 569	18 529	7.13
25–29	8 674	9 890	18 563	7.14
30–34	9 230	9 846	19 077	7.34
35–39	9 068	9 326	18 394	7.08
40–44	8 701	8 949	17 650	6.79
45–49	7 357	7 359	14 715	5.66
50–54	6 042	6 091	12 133	4.67
55–59	5 010	4 941	9 951	3.83
60–64	3 959	3 790	7 749	2.98
65-69	2 574	2 464	5 038	1.94
70-74	1 496	1 570	3 066	1.18
75-79	860	999	1 859	0.72
80-84	479	758	1 237	0.48
85-89	257	466	723	0.28
90-94	102	254	356	0.14
95-99	32	68	100	0.04
100+	13	10	23	0.01
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	44 001	42 758	86 759	33.39
15–64	79 159	81 545	160 704	61.84
65+	5 813	6 589	12 402	4.77

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	140 463	150 065	290 528	100
0–4	15 210	15 355	30 565	10.52
5–9	15 253	15 368	30 621	10.54
10–14	15 265	15 006	30 271	10.42
15–19	13 697	13 899	27 596	9.50
20–24	10 402	10 901	21 303	7.33
25–29	8 367	10 345	18 712	6.44
30–34	9 119	11 051	20 170	6.94
35–39	9 170	10 909	20 079	6.91
40–44	8 884	9 650	18 534	6.38
45–49	7 891	8 787	16 678	5.74
50–54	7 211	7 412	14 623	5.03
55–59	6 107	6 372	12 479	4.30
60–64	5 009	5 165	10 174	3.50
65-69	3 714	3 705	7 419	2.55
70-74	2 440	2 545	4 985	1.72
75-79	1 394	1 559	2 953	1.02
80-84	744	1 012	1 756	0.60
85-89	397	539	936	0.32
90-94	118	297	415	0.14
95-99	42	142	184	0.06
100+	29	46	75	0.03
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	45 728	45 729	91 457	31.48
15–64	85 857	94 491	180 348	62.08
65+	8 878	9 845	18 723	6.44

Vital statistics

The total fertility rate in French Guiana has remained high and is today considerably higher than in metropolitan France, and also higher than the average of the French overseas departments. It is largely responsible for the high population growth of French Guiana.

Infant mortality rate

The infant mortality in French Guiana is higher than in metropolitan France:

2007-2009: 12.0
2008-2010: 11.6
2009-2011: 10.1
Life expectancy

At birth, life expectancy is 76.2 years for male children, and 82.8 for female.

Ethnic groups

Estimates of the percentages of French Guiana ethnic composition vary, a situation compounded by the large proportion of immigrants.
Creoles, or Mulattoes, 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 are included, and 30 to 50% without.
Roughly 41,000 people or 14% of the population of French Guiana 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 and Hmong from Laos. 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 who are from African descent, and Amerindians. The Maroons, descendants of escaped African slaves, live primarily along the Maroni River. The main Maroon groups are the Saramaka, Ndyuka, and Boni. The Maroons are the fastest growing ethnic group, and as of 2018 constitute about one-third of the total population with an estimated population of close to 100,000 people.
The main Amerindian groups are the Aparai, Kalina, Lokono, Palikur, Teko, Wayampi and Wayana. The estimated population for the beginning of the 17th century was 30,000 people. Until the middle of the 20th century, there was a sharp decline in population to almost 1,200 people in 1961 which was mainly caused by European diseases. Improved health care managed to turn the tide.

Nationality

On January 1, 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% had a foreign nationality. Of these, Surinamese, Haitians and Brazilians were the largest groups. Smaller groups included people with nationality of Guyana, Colombia, China, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

Languages

and French Guianese Creole are the most widely spoken languages. There are also several native languages, including Arawakan, Cariban, and Tupi-Guarani languages. Other languages spoken include Hakka Chinese and Javanese.
The official language, like for all overseas departments and territories of France, is French.