Cayenne Population and Area (French Guiana)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Cayenne (French Guiana)
Cayenne: Population and Area
With 62,951 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Cayenne is the 92nd most populous town in France in 2026 and the most populous in the French Guiana department, out of 22 communes. It covers 24 km² (6,135th largest area in France, 22nd largest in the department), with a population density of 2,667 inhabitants per km², or 24 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 335th in France for density.
Cayenne is located in the French Guiana department (973), in the French Guiana region, where it ranks 1st by population out of 22 communes. It is the most populous town in the French Guiana department, which is home to 296,053 people over 83,534 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the French Guiana department and the regional ranking: largest city in French Guiana.
Towns of similar size in the French Guiana department: Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (pop. 54,718), Matoury (pop. 36,694), Remire-Montjoly (pop. 28,068).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 97302. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Cayenne, the major city of French Guiana
Prefecture of French Guiana and the most populous town in the department, Cayenne sits on the Island of Cayenne, on the Atlantic Ocean, between the mouth of the Cayenne River and that of the Mahury. Founded in the 17th century around Fort Cépérou, it is home to most of the territory's administrations.
A city short on space in a vast region
Here is French Guiana's paradox: the region has the largest communes in France, yet its prefecture, Cayenne, has a territory of only a few dozen square kilometers, which makes it a dense city. Most of the population growth, which is very strong in French Guiana, therefore spills over into the neighboring towns on the Island of Cayenne, Matoury and Rémire-Montjoly, as well as toward the west. Public services, commerce, the port and the airport, along with the proximity of the Kourou space center, some sixty kilometers away, make the Cayenne urban area the main employment hub of French Guiana.