Guide to Guyana Introduction Background: Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001.
Geography Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 5 00 N, 59 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 459 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)
Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 1,500 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
Environment - current issues: water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively
People Population: 765,283 note
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.26% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 18.45 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -7.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 11,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,100 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%
Religions: Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%
Languages: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic within the Commonwealth
Capital: Georgetown
Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Constitution: 6 October 1980
Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (68 seats, 65 elected by popular vote, 1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2 nonvoting members appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO]; Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC note
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green
Economy Economy - overview: The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-02, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. Growth then slowed in 2003 and came back gradually in 2004, buoyed largely by increased export earnings. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.899 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 418,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 9.1% (understated) (2000)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 34.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp
Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 808 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 751.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Current account balance: $-129.4 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $570.2 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber
Exports - partners: Canada 23.2%, US 19.2%, UK 10.9%, Portugal 9%, Belgium 6.4%, Jamaica 5.2% (2004)
Imports: $650.1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
Imports - partners: Trinidad and Tobago 24.8%, US 24.5%, Cuba 6.8%, UK 5.4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $280.6 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $1.2 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997)
Currency (code): Guyanese dollar (GYD)
Currency code: GYD
Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 198.33 (2004), 193.88 (2003), 190.67 (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 80,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 87,300 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 420,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)
Televisions: 46,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .gy
Internet hosts: 613 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)
Internet users: 125,000 (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 1,077 km note
Ports and harbors: Georgetown
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 49 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Guyana Defense Force
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $6.5 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.9% (2004)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks UNCLOS arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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