In northeastern South America, nestled between Brazil, Suriname and the Atlantic Ocean, French Guiana is both a region and a French overseas department. Covered by 98% of a dense equatorial forest, which is one of the least ecologically fragmented in the world, French Guiana is home to a rich and diverse fauna and flora.

But did you know that French Guiana is home to Europe’s spaceport? Or that Cayenne pepper comes from there? 

Find out more this piece of France through these 20 interesting facts about French Guiana! 🌶

 

Facts on French Guiana to Learn All About It

Ready to learn all about French Guiana?

Facts are one of the best ways to learn more about something, and I personally love to read them! I’ve put together for you quite a bit of facts on French Guiana; I’ve split them in 4 categories:

  • The best French Guiana facts
  • French Guiana fun facts
  • French Guiana facts for kids
  • General facts of French Guiana

Let’s dive in straight away with our first category! 🇬🇫

 

The Best French Guiana Facts

The region of French Guiana is part of… well, France, and has definitely some interesting facts that you will want to learn about. In this first part, it will be about the general best French Guiana facts. 

 

1. Though French Guiana is very far from France, it is still a French region

French Guiana is located in… South America. It is now an overseas department of France, on the North East coast. The majority of the land is made up of tropical rainforest.

Be careful to not confuse it with Guyana! Both names are very similar, and the lands are physically very near (only Suriname separates both regions).

 

2. Christopher Columbus first discovered French Guiana

I feel like I have been saying this hundreds of times, but the first European that discovered French Guiana is, yet again, Christopher Columbus.

The legendary sailor spotted the coastline for the first time in 1498, and named it the land of Pariahs. Before the Europeans arrived, the region was occupied by the Arawak Indians, just like lots of Caribbean islands and regions.

 

cool facts about french guiana and christopher columbus

 

3. French Guiana has been part of France for a very long time

To this day, French Guiana is still part of France, and that dates back to a long while ago. The first French establishment was recorded in 1503, but it was not until Cayenne was founded by colonists in 1643 that the French presence was durable.

Sadly, it was first a slave society up until the French Revolution and the abolition of slavery in the colonies.

 

4. The space center of French Guiana is very famous for all Europeans

The French government chose the location of the center, in the jungle near Kourou, in 1964. There is little to no risk of any hurricane or earthquake in this zone, and no one lives in the vicinity.

Not only is it used by the French, but it is also a huge European center, from which the famous Ariane rocket is launched every now and then.

 

4 - ariane space center facts french guiana

 

5. The terrain of French Guiana is very varied

Just like in most Caribbean regions, you will feel like you are in heaven in French Guiana. The land is a fantastic mix of coastal plains, hills and mountains, all covered in dense rainforest.

The beaches are unsurprisingly just amazing, the sand is bright and warm, and the water is turquoise. Overall, French Guiana is just another of these Caribbean paradises.

 

6. There are tons of rivers in French Guiana, and even hydroelectricity

French Guiana is not an island, so the sea as a whole is less important in the culture than that of other French colonies like Guadeloupe or Martinique.

However, there are still many rivers in the region: the Waki Camopi, Tampoc, Ouaqui, Inini, Marowiny and Sinnamary are some of them. In the north of French Guiana, there is also a dam forming an artificial lake and providing hydroelectricity.

 

7. The control of the region went over to different countries throughout the centuries

After Christopher Columbus first sighting of French Guiana, Spaniards settled there and displaced the native Indians, for a whole century.

After that, French settlers came in. Then, the Dutch… who were quickly removed under the Breda treaty. For more than two centuries, the French, the British and the Portuguese alternated control of the region before 1817 when France finally took it over.

 

8. Because of the amalgamation of nations, the arts are a mixture of different traditions

Direct consequence of the past history of the land, the different nations that were in control of French Guiana left a more or less important mark on the local culture.

Concerning art, the strategies are derivatives of the original techniques of other countries. The most spread art forms are woodcarving, weaving and painting.

 

9. The region of French Guiana is filled with leatherback turtles

Not only are the beaches in French Guiana pristine and a wonderful sight, but they are also home to tons of turtle nesting sites!

The leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle species. It migrates across the globe, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. Because of egg collection and fisheries bycatch, the leatherback turtle is becoming more and more endangered, and is officially ranked Vulnerable at the moment.

 

9 - french guiana facts for kids about turtles

 

10. The major commercial exports of French Guiana are shrimp, rosewood essence and rice

A long time ago, gold was the main export from French Guiana. When it depleted, other industries rose up.

Among them, some of the most important ones are shrimp, rosewood essence and rice. On top of that, construction, sugar and rum are also major in terms of exports. The main consumers of French Guiana’s exports are France, the US, the EU and Japan.

 

So that’s it for the 10 best facts about French Guiana. Let’s talk about the fun part now! 👇

 

French Guiana Fun Facts

Every place has unusual and funny facts that you should know about. For French Guiana, I have 5 of them for you. 

 

11. French Guiana is probably larger than you think

French Guiana is close to the equator, and because it is a neighboring region of Brazil, it looks extremely small.

As a matter of fact, with a land area of 83,534 km² / 32,253 sq mi, the region is actually a bit larger than Scotland!

 

12. The Devil’s Island, a famous place where prisoners were exiled, is off the coast of French Guiana

For a whole century, from 1852 to 1953, French prisoners were exiled in French Guiana.

More specifically, the famous Devil’s Island, a prison off the coast of the region, is said to be the most feared penal colony in the whole world! The treatment prisoners received was very harsh, including being locked in a cell with just bars, suffering from both the tropical environment and the scorching sun.

 

12 - french guiana interesting facts about devils island

 

13. More generally, French Guiana is reputed for being the “prison of France”

From all around the French Empire, criminals were sent to South America, in French Guiana. The most notorious prisons are located on the “Îles du Salut”. Because of how harsh the environment is, the punishment for the prisoners was cruel and raised a lot of human rights controversies.

Today, prisons are a main part of the tourism of French Guiana, and most of the historical ones can be visited.

 

14. While French Guiana is technically part of Europe, its public transportation is just terrible

France’s public transportation is overall pretty good. In major cities, you will find anything you need pretty easily, and it is quite affordable on the whole.

In French Guiana however, though it is technically part of France, there is no such thing as public transportation. If you want to travel, you will need to rely on the kindness of strangers.

 

15. The pepper named after the capital is very famous

The Cayenne pepper is reputed worldwide. Its name comes from the capital city of French Guiana, Cayenne.

The pepper is mostly used as a powder in spicy dishes, and sometimes in its whole form as well. Either fresh or dried, you can use Cayenne pepper in egg dishes, casseroles, meats and stews, cheese dishes, hot sauces and curries.

 

15 - french guiana fun facts about cayenne pepper

 

And these were my 5 fun facts about French Guiana! The last part will be about facts for kids. 

 

French Guiana Facts for Kids

Though every fact on this list is suited for kids, I want to dedicate a special part to the youngsters. Eternally curious and thirsty for knowledge, I hope they will be happy with these 5 cool facts about French Guiana I have for them. 

 

16. Though French Guiana is in South America, its official currency is the Euro

You already know it, French Guiana is located in South America.

But what you might not know is that it is completely different from its neighbors. Not only is the Euro the official currency, but French is also the main language and baguettes can be found on every table. It is truly a small part of France lost in South America, near the Amazon forest.

 

16 - interesting fact about french guiana currency

 

17. The climate in French Guiana is tropical, meaning it’s both hot and humid

If you want to visit French Guiana, you should avoid the wet season at all costs. From July to November, it is decently dry and bearable. However, from December to June, there is a lot of rain.

On the whole, no matter the time of the year, the weather is still very hot and humid.

 

18. French is the official language of French Guiana, but there also others

France arguably has had the most important impact on the region of French Guiana, that’s for sure. The main language that everyone speaks and understands is French.

On top of that, there are also several native languages. The majority of the population speaks Creole. You might also hear English, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese, though not any of them are that widely spoken.

 

19. If you have family or friends in French Guiana, you can easily call them

Though French Guiana is very far away from France, people who have relatives there can easily reach them by phone, by using the international dialing number of +594.

Nonetheless, before trying that, you should think about how much that would cost you!

 

20. The capital city of French Guiana is Cayenne

Cayenne is a very lively city in French Guiana, and is its capital. Its motto is “fert aurum industria”, meaning “work brings wealth”. It stands on the banks of the estuary of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Ocean.

Historically, it was ignored by Spanish explorers, because they found the region too hot and poor to be claimed, but later a French settlement was established.

 

There you have them, these were all my 20 French Guiana interesting facts. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the region, or the country as a whole, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about. 🔎

 

General Facts of French Guiana

You’ll find below a few general facts of French Guiana, to learn more about this French region:

  • Name: Guyane (French) / French Guiana (English)
  • Land area: 83,534 km² / 32,253 sq mi
  • Population: 294,000
  • Name of inhabitants: French Guianan, French Guianese
  • Website: French Guiana

 

French Guiana Flag

flag of french guiana

 

More Facts!

Want to learn more facts about France?

Well, I have other France facts posts I’m sure you’ll love reading!

Here is the main guide of the best France facts 👉 The 60 Best Facts about France

Check out these France facts by city:

Or these French facts by region:

You can also check these French facts by topic: 

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

 

The Full List of 20 French Guiana Facts

  1. Though French Guiana is very far from France, it is still a French region
  2. Christopher Columbus first discovered French Guiana
  3. French Guiana has been part of France for a very long time
  4. The space center of French Guiana is very famous for all Europeans
  5. The terrain of French Guiana is very varied
  6. There are tons of rivers in French Guiana, and even hydroelectricity
  7. The control of the region went over to different countries throughout the centuries
  8. Because of the amalgamation of nations, the arts are a mixture of different traditions
  9. The region of French Guiana is filled with leatherback turtles
  10. The major commercial exports of French Guiana are shrimp, rosewood essence and rice
  11. French Guiana is probably larger than you think
  12. The Devil’s Island, a famous place where prisoners were exiled, is off the coast of French Guiana
  13. More generally, French Guiana is reputed for being the “prison of France”
  14. While French Guiana is technically part of Europe, its public transportation is just terrible
  15. The pepper named after the capital is very famous
  16. Though French Guiana is in South America, its official currency is the Euro
  17. The climate in French Guiana is tropical, meaning it’s both hot and humid
  18. French is the official language of French Guiana, but there also others
  19. If you have family or friends in French Guiana, you can easily call them
  20. The capital city of French Guiana is Cayenne

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