Brazilians in French Guiana Brazilians in French Guiana Nearly half of all Brazilians in France live in the overseas region of French Guiana, including many who have crossed the 730 km border illegally. While Brazilian citizens may travel to Metropolitan France without a visa, they do need a visa to enter French Guiana. As is the case in neighbouring Guyana and Suriname, many Brazilian migrants are gold miners. As of 2012, there are about 70,000 Brazilians in French Guiana. French Guiana continues to be a popular destination for illegal miners from neighbouring Brazil for three reasons: the price of gold has dramatically increased created
Demographics of French Guiana Demographics of French Guiana According to INSEE the population of French Guiana was 239,450 of January 1, 2012. 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. On January 1, 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% had a foreign nationality. Of these, Surinamese (13.8% of the total population), Haitians (8.8%) and Brazilians (8.7%) were the largest groups. Smaller groups included people with nationality of Guyana (1.7%), Colombia (1.0%), China (0.5%), the