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$Unique_ID{COW01544}
$Pretitle{282}
$Title{Guyana
Statistical Profile of Guyana}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{km
rate
guyana
million
total
national
guyanese
labor
ppp
area}
$Date{1990}
$Log{National Anthem*59500010.aud
Map of Guyana*0154401.scf
Flag of Guyana*0154402.scf
}
Country: Guyana
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[Hear National Anthem]
[See Map of Guyana]
[See Flag of Guyana]
Statistical Profile of Guyana
Geography
Total area: 214,970 km2; land area: 196,850 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries: 2,462 km total; Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km,
Venezuela 743 km
Coastline: 459 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Essequibo area claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area
between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters
of the Courantyne)
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
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber,
shrimp, fish
Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 83% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons;
water pollution
People
Population: 765,461 (July 1989), growth rate - 0.1% (1989)
Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: - 19 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 41 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 69 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Guyanese
Ethnic divisions: 51% East Indian, 43% black and mixed, 4% Amerindian, 2%
European and Chinese
Religion: 57% Christian, 33% Hindu, 9% Muslim, 1% other
Language: English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy: 85%
Labor force: 268,000; 44.5% industry and commerce, 33.8% agriculture,
21.7% services; public-sector employment amounts to 60-80% of the total labor
force (1985)
Organized labor: 34% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Type: republic within 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; formerly British Guiana)
Constitution: 6 October 1980
Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of
Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Branches: Executive President, who appoints and heads a cabinet;
unicameral legislature (65-member National Assembly); 53 elected by proportional
representation every five years
Leaders:
Chief of State President Hugh Desmond HOYTE (since 6 August 1985);
First Vice President Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985);
Head of Government Prime Minister Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: last held in December 1985
Political parties and leaders: People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh
Desmond Hoyte; People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi Jagan; Working People's
Alliance (WPA), Eusi Kwayana, Rupert Roopnarine, Moses Bhagwan; Democratic Labor
Movement (DLM), Paul Tennassee; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
Llewellyn John; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph Bacchus; United Force
(UF), Marcellus Feilden Singh; Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy (VLD,
also known as Liberator Party), Gunraj Kumar, J. K. Makepeace Richmond
Voting strength: (1985 election) 78% PNC (42 seats), 16% PPP (8 seats),
4% UF (2 seats), 2% WPA (1 seat)
Communists: 100 (est.) hardcore within PPP; top echelons of PPP and PYO
(Progressive Youth Organization, militant wing of the PPP) include many
Communists; small but unknown number of orthodox Marxist-Leninists within PNC,
some of whom formerly belonged to the PPP
Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC);
Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee
(CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Member of: CARICOM, CCC, CDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICJ,
IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL,
IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Cedric Hilburn GRANT;
Chancery at 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-6900;
there is a Guyanese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Theresa A. TULL; Embassy at 31 Main Street, Georgetown;
telephone [592] (02) 54900 through 54909
Flag: 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
Overview: After growing on average at less than 1% a year in 1984-87,
GDP dropped by 3% in 1988, the result of bad weather, labor trouble in the
canefields, and flooding and equipment problems in the bauxite industry.
Consumer prices rose 51.5%, and the current account deficit widened
substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power
is in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in
national output. The government, in association with international financial
agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The
government's stabilization program--aimed at establishing realistic
exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and resumption of growth--requires
considerable public administrative abilities and continued patience by
consumers during a long incubation period.
GDP: $344 million, per capita $450; real growth rate 0.7% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 13% (1986)
Budget: revenues $110 million; expenditures $293 million, including
capital expenditures of $60 million (1987 est.)
Exports: $240 million (f.o.b., 1987)
commodities--bauxite, sugar, rice, shrimp, gold, molasses, timber, rum;
partners--UK 37%, US 12%, Canada 10.6%, CARICOM 4.8% (1986)
Imports: $254 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;
partners--CARICOM 41%, US 18%, UK 9%, Canada 3% (1984)
External debt: $1.8 billion, including arrears (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate - 3.0% (1986)
Electricity: 200,000 kW capacity; 530 million kWh produced,
690 kWh per capita (1988)
Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp),
textiles, gold mining
Agriculture: sugarcane, rice, other food crops; food shortages--wheat
flour, cooking oil, processed meat, dairy products
Aid: NA
Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US $1--10.0000 (fixed rate since
1987), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge
Highways: 7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth,
590 km unimproved
Inland waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice,
Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km,
100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Ports: Georgetown
Civil air: 5 major transport ai