Guyana

Internet country code

.gy

Internet hosts

613 (2003)

Internet users

125,000 (2002)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)

Telephone system

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

Telephones - main lines in use

80,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

87,300 (2002)

Television broadcast stations

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

Agriculture - products

sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp)

Budget

revenues: $263.4 million expenditures: $326.7 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2003)

Currency

Guyanese dollar (GYD)

Currency code

GYD

Current account balance

$-158 million (2003)

Debt - external

$1.2 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient

$84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) (2000 est.)

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. 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 by restructuring and partial privatization.

Electricity - consumption

792.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - production

852 million kWh (2001)

Exchange rates

Guyanese dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 190.665 (2002), 187.321 (2001), 182.43 (2000), 177.995 (1999)

Exports

$512 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities

sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber

Exports - partners

Canada 23.2%, US 21.8%, UK 13.5%, Portugal 6.7%, Belgium 6.5%, Jamaica 6.1% (2003)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.797 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 37.2% industry: 22.7% services: 40.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0.5% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA

Imports

$612 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities

manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food

Imports - partners

US 22.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.2%, Italy 11.2%, UK 7.2%, Cuba 5.2% (2003)

Industrial production growth rate

7.1% (1997 est.)

Industries

bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.7% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

38.5% of GDP (2003)

Labor force

418,000 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA

Oil - consumption

11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold

$257 million (2003)

Unemployment rate

9.1% (understated) (2000)

Area

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

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Idaho

Climate

tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Coastline

459 km

Elevation extremes

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

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

Geographic coordinates

5 00 N, 59 00 W

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

Irrigated land

1,500 sq km (1998 est.)

Land boundaries

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

Land use

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

Location

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela

Map references

South America

Maritime claims

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

Natural hazards

flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons

Natural resources

bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish

Terrain

mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

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

Capital

Georgetown

Constitution

6 October 1980

Country name

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Roland BULLEN embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] 225-4900 through 4909 FAX: [592] 225-8497

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Bayney KARRAN chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York

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 NA 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

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

Government type

republic within the Commonwealth

Independence

26 May 1966 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, 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

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court

Legal system

based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 NA 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

National holiday

Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

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/R [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: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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.

Military branches

Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps; Guyana People's Militia

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$6.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

0.8% (2003)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 209,545 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 157,264 (2004 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 26.5% (male 95,431; female 91,806) 15-64 years: 68.3% (male 243,224; female 239,047) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,000; female 20,295) (2004 est.)

Birth rate

17.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate

9.71 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups

East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

2.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,100 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

11,000 (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 37.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 41.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 32.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages

English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.43 years male: 60.12 years female: 64.84 years (2004 est.)

Literacy

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

Median age

total: 26.2 years male: 25.6 years female: 26.8 years (2004 est.)

Nationality

noun: Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese

Net migration rate

-2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population

705,803 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 2004 est.)

Population growth rate

0.61% (2004 est.)

Religions

Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%

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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.06 children born/woman (2004 est.)

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

Airports

49 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.)

Highways

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

Merchant marine

total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: Barbados 1, Panama 1 registered in other countries: 8 (2004 est.)

Ports and harbors

Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika

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.)

Waterways

1,077 km note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004)