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: 214,970 sq km; land: 196,850 sq km; water: 18,120 sq km

 

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Idaho

 

Land boundaries: total: 2,462 km; border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

 

Coastline: 459 km

 

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin

 

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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m

 

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish

 

Land use: arable land: 2.44%; permanent crops: 0.15%; other: 97.41% (2001)

 

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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

 

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: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.4% (male 103,054/female 99,279); 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 263,953/female 260,000); 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,801/female 22,196) (2005 est.)

 

Median age: total: 26.91 years; male: 26.44 years; female: 27.4 years (2005 est.)

 

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: 1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female; total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

 

Infant mortality rate: total: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 29.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

 

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.5 years; male: 62.86 years; female: 68.28 years (2005 est.)

 

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: Guyanese (singular and plural); adjective: Guyanese

 

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: age 15 and over has ever attended school; total population: 98.8%; male: 99.1%; female: 98.5% (2003 est.)

 

Government

 

Country name: conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana; conventional short form: Guyana; former: British Guiana

 

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: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN; head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since December 1997); cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature; elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006); prime minister appointed by the president; election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA%

 

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: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006); election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1

 

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]

 

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: 38.3%; industry: 19.9%; services: 41.8% (2004 est.)

 

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%: NA

highest 10%: NA

 

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (2004 est.)

 

Investment (gross fixed): 34.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Budget: revenues: $287.6 million; expenditures: $371.6 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2004 est.)

 

Agriculture - products: sugar, 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 - 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 22.8%, US 19%, UK 12.1%, Portugal 8.2%, Jamaica 6.6%, Belgium 6.3% (2004)

 

Imports: $650.1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Imports - commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food

 

Imports - partners: US 26.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 21.6%, UK 6.4%, Cuba 5.9%, China 4.7% (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)

 

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: fair system for long-distance service; domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines; international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

 

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)

 

Television broadcast stations:3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)

 

Internet country code: .gy

 

Internet hosts: 613 (2003)

 

Internet users: 125,000 (2002)

 

Transportation

 

Railways: total: 187 km; standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge; narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge; note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.)

 

Highways: total: 7,970 km; paved: 590 km; unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.)

 

Waterways: 1,077 km; note: Berbice, Demerara