French Guiana capita that year, and 56.5% of the metropolitan French regions outside the Paris Region. French Guiana's population of 281,612 (2018 estimate), most of whom live along the coast, is very ethnically diverse. At the 2014 census, 57.3% of the inhabitants of French Guiana were born in the region, 9.3% were born in Metropolitan France, 3.0% were born in the French Caribbean departments and collectivities (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy), and 30.2% were born in foreign countries (primarily Suriname, Brazil and Haiti). Estimates of the percentages of French Guiana ethnic composition vary, a situation compounded by the large proportion of
Guiana Shield Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most spectacular waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls and Kuquenan Falls. The Guiana Shield underlies Guyana (previously British Guiana), Suriname (previously Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana (or Guyane), most of