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| Introduction | Guyana |
| 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. |
| People | Guyana |
| 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.) |
| 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.) |
| Median age: | total: 26.2 years male: 25.6 years female: 26.8 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.61% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 17.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 9.71 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 37.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 32.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 41.28 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 62.43 years male: 60.12 years female: 64.84 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.06 children born/woman (2004 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 | Guyana |
| 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 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 |
| 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 |
| 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/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 |
| International organization participation: | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald D. GODARD 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 |
| 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 |
| Communications | Guyana |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 80,400 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 87,300 (2002) |
| 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) |
| 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 | Guyana |
| Railways: | total: 187 km standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.) narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge |
| Highways: | total: 7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 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) |
| Ports and harbors: | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika |
| Merchant marine: | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT foreign-owned: Barbados 1, Panama 1 registered in other countries: 8 (2003 est.) by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1 |
| 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.) |
| Military | Guyana |
| Military branches: | Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps; Guyana People's Militia |
| 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.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $6.5 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 0.8% (2003) |
| Transnational Issues | Guyana |
| 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 |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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