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: all of the area west of the Essequibo river 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: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 6%; forest and woodland 83%; other 8%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons;
water pollution
PEOPLE
Population: 749,508 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 20 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 68 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian
4%, European and Chinese 2%
Religion: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
Language: English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy: 95% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1990 est.)
Labor force: 268,000; industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture
33.8%, services 21.7%; 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
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)
Executive branch: executive president, first vice president,
prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
Leaders:
Chief of State--Executive 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
NA August 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;
United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY;
National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Executive President--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be
held mid-1991); Hugh Desmond HOYTE was elected president (the
leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly
elections);
National Assembly--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held
mid-1991);
results--PNC 78%, PPP 16%, UF 4%, WPA 2%;
seats--(65 total, 53 elected) PNC 42, PPP 8, UF 2, WPA 1
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);
Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor
groups as well as several of the smaller parties; Guyana Council of
Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC);
the latter two organizations are small and active but not well
organized; Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes
various labor groups, as well as several of the smaller political
parties
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 George JONES; 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
1986-87, GDP dropped by 3% a year in 1988-89. The decline resulted from
bad weather, labor trouble in the canefields, and flooding and equipment
problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about 35% in 1988
and by over 100% in 1989, 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 a resumption of
growth--requires considerable public administrative abilities and
continued patience by consumers during a long incubation period.
GDP: $287.2 million, per capita $380; real growth rate - 3.3%
(1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 105% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 12-15% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues $65 million; expenditures $129 million, including
capital expenditures of $6 million (1989 est.)
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and
about 50% of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential
exists for fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially
wheat, vegetable oils, and animal products
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $244 million; Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
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 aircraft
Airports: 58 total, 55 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; none with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
14 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system with radio relay network; over
27,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; stations--4 AM,
3 FM, no TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Coast Guard
and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana People's Militia (GPM),
Guyana National Service (GNS)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 195,142; 148,477 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $5.5 million, 6% of GDP (1989 est.)
