Promote:
Invest in French Guiana
A short guide for companies expanding into French Guiana: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. French Guiana at a glance
PopulationEstimate
298,554
French Guiana had 298,554 people on January 1, 2026, by INSEE’s provisional estimate.
Source: INSEE, population by department 2012 to 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of January 1, 2026
GDPEstimate
GDP was 5,505 million euros in 2025, in current euros, by the rapid regional accounts estimate INSEE published in July 2026.
Source: INSEE, French Guiana rapid accounts 2025, July 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP per personEstimate
GDP per person was 18,500 euros in 2025, the figure INSEE prints for the rapid accounts estimate.
Source: INSEE, French Guiana rapid accounts 2025, July 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Real GDP growthEstimate
3.9%
Real GDP grew 3.9 percent in 2025, by the rapid regional accounts estimate INSEE published in July 2026.
Source: INSEE, French Guiana rapid accounts 2025, July 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Inflation
2.0%
Consumer prices rose 2.0 percent over the twelve months to September 2026, as INSEE’s French Guiana index shows.
Source: INSEE, French Guiana consumer prices, September 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 2026
The currency is the euro.
Source: IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 2, 2026
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
The investment promotion agency is Business France, which lists French Guiana among the French regions it presents to foreign investors.
Source: Business France, where to set up in France (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Company formalities go through the national one-stop portal that the INPI runs; the pages read show no separate investment one-stop shop for French Guiana.
Source: INPI, business formalities one-stop portal (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Article R151-3 of the Monetary and Financial Code lists sensitive sectors where foreign investment needs prior authorization, among them arms, energy, water, transport, space, dual-use goods and critical technologies.
Source: Directorate-General for Enterprise, economic security guide, May 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
The ZFANG profit abatement covers eligible businesses anywhere in French Guiana, with no zone boundaries, and no official list or count of zones is published.
Source: French tax administration, ZFANG guidance, July 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 8, 2026
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in French Guiana
- Check whether the investment needs prior authorization because the target French company works in a listed sensitive sector.Direction générale du TrésorThe review takes at most 75 working days.Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Business France, setting up in France: key checks, May 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of May 11, 2026
- Register the company online on the national business formalities portal.Guichet unique des formalités d’entreprises (INPI)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: INPI, business formalities one-stop portal (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- If you make or import goods, check your octroi de mer obligations with customs, and ask the CTG which rates and exemptions apply.Direction générale des douanes et droits indirectsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: CTG, octroi de mer in French Guiana (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- If your project involves mining or quarrying, ask the State’s territories and sea directorate which authorization or title applies.Direction générale des territoires et de la mer de la GuyaneOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: DGTM Guyane, extractive industries unit, updated October 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 3, 2024
Show 2 more set-up steps
- For a foreign hire, the employer requests work authorization online on the portal for foreign nationals.Préfecture de la région GuyaneOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture of French Guiana, foreign workers page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Apply for the investor’s or entrepreneur’s residence permit, such as the talent passport, through the prefecture’s foreign nationals service.Préfecture de la région GuyaneOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture of French Guiana, foreign nationals page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with CTG and DGDDI. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
Investment and business setup
Territorial authority
CTG
Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane
Holds the territory’s economic development powers and sets octroi de mer rates and exemptions.
Visit CTG (opens in a new tab)Source: CTG, the territorial authority’s powers (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
Industrial property office
INPI
Institut national de la propriété industrielle
Runs the national one-stop portal where new companies file their formalities.
Visit INPI (opens in a new tab)Source: INPI, business formalities one-stop portal (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 2 more organizations
- Get advice
State representative’s office
Préfecture de la Guyane
Préfecture de la région Guyane
Handles residence permits and work authorization steps for foreign nationals in French Guiana.
- Find finance
Public development bank
AFD
Agence française de développement
Supports public and private actors in French Guiana across the territory.
Visit AFD (opens in a new tab)Source: AFD, French Guiana country page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs authority
DGDDI
Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects
Takes export declarations, issues EORI and registered exporter numbers, and collects octroi de mer on goods in French Guiana.
Visit DGDDI (opens in a new tab)Source: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
Tax authority
DGFiP
Direction générale des Finances publiques
Publishes the official tax guidance, including the ZFANG profit abatement for businesses in French Guiana.
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Agricultural chamber
Chambre d’agriculture de la Guyane
Advises farmers in French Guiana on setting up and handing on farms, training, livestock and cutting pesticide use through Écophyto.
5. Worth knowing
Shipments to mainland France
Customs treats French Guiana as a third territory for tax, so shipments to mainland France need an export declaration and count as exports.
What to do: Ask customs which declaration type fits your destination before the first shipment.
Sources: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab); French customs, page for businesses in French Guiana (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Investment screening
Business France describes prior authorization for operations in sensitive sectors, with a 75 working day review, and the sector list includes space.
What to do: Check your target’s activities against article R151-3 before you sign.
Sources: Business France, setting up in France: key checks, May 2026 (opens in a new tab); Directorate-General for Enterprise, economic security guide, May 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Tax regime
IEDOM reports no VAT, a 40 percent cut in residents’ personal income tax capped at 4,050 euros, and an 80 percent ZFANG profit abatement.
What to do: Confirm your activity’s eligibility with the tax authority before you rely on any relief.
Sources: IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab); French tax administration, ZFANG guidance, July 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Octroi de mer
The differentiated regime runs to December 31, 2027, and the CTG’s 2025 evaluation finds its detailed customs declarations weigh most on small firms.
What to do: Ask the CTG which rates and exemptions apply to your product before you price.
Sources: CTG, octroi de mer evaluation report, March 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab); IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 1 more
Land access
DAAF Guyane says the State owns nearly 90 percent of the land in French Guiana.
What to do: Ask the prefecture how State land can be reached for your project before you choose a site.
Source: DAAF Guyane, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare French Guiana with other countriesSet French Guiana beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
Turn this guide into your French Guiana project.
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Promote:French Guiana is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 1, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.