Deep in equatorial South America, French Guiana (also known as "Guyane") is a department of France bordering Brazil, Suriname, and the Atlantic. It's a land where old abuts new in striking incongruity. Dense rainforests shelter centuries-old indigenous villages, while rockets zoom overhead, launched from the country's lucrative Space Centre. The capital, Cayenne, is a melting pot of French, Asian, African, and Brazilian cultures.
Education in French Guiana is compulsory for all children between ages 6 and 16, and the medium of tuition is French because the country is an overseas department of France. Enrollment at primary school which lasts for 5 years is almost 100%, except for in remoter rural areas where facilities are sometimes sparse.
France is responsible for general public health, but the competencies specifically pertaining to health are divided between the State level and the local administrative units, which draw up and implement local health policies, undertake health surveillance, and participate in policy development for public and private hospitals, human resources development, and the organisation of networks of health professionals.