Match 104 DB Rec# - 7,556 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Guyana
Text :
Guyana
Geography
Location:
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname
and Venezuela
Map references:
South America
Area:
total area:
214,970 sq km
land area:
196,850 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries:
total 2,462 km, Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
Coastline:
459 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International 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:
0%
meadows and pastures:
6%
forest and woodland:
83%
other:
8%
Irrigated land:
1,300 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals;
deforestation
natural hazards:
flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83
People
Population:
723,774 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
33% (female 118,515; male 123,048)
15-64 years:
62% (female 224,484; male 225,543)
65 years and over:
5% (female 17,540; male 14,644) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.81% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
19.41 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
7.34 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
-20.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
47.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
65.1 years
male:
61.86 years
female:
68.5 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Guyanese
Ethnic divisions:
East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian 4%, European and Chinese 2%
Religions:
Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
Languages:
English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy:
age 15 and over has ever attended school (1990 est.)
total population:
96%
male:
98%
female:
95%
Labor force:
268,000
by occupation:
industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%, services 21.7%
note:
public-sector employment amounts to 60%-80% of the total labor force (1985)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form:
Guyana
former:
British Guiana
Digraph:
GY
Type:
republic
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:
Executive President Cheddi JAGAN (since 5 October 1992); election last held
5 October 1992; results - Cheddi JAGAN was elected president since he was
leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly elections
head of government:
Prime Minister Sam HINDS (since 5 October 1992)
cabinet:
Cabinet of Ministers; appointed by the president, responsible to the
legislature
Legislative branch:
unicameral
National Assembly:
elections last held on 5 October 1992 (next to be held in 1997); results -
PPP 53.4%, PNC 42.3%, WPA 2%, TUF 1.2%; seats - (65 total, 53 elected) PPP
36, PNC 26, WPA 2, TUF 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature
Political parties and leaders:
People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi JAGAN; People's National Congress
(PNC), Hugh Desmond HOYTE; Good and Green Georgetown (GGG), Hamilton GREEN;
Working People's Alliance (WPA), Eusi KWAYANA, Rupert ROOPNARINE; Democratic
Labor Movement (DLM), Paul TENNASSEE; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
Llewellyn JOHN; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph BACCHUS; The United
Force (TUF), Manzoor NADIR; United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY;
National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN; Guyana Labor Party (GLP),
Nanda GOPAUL
Other political or pressure groups:
Trades Union Congress (TUC); Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO);
Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC)
Government
note:
the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Member of:
ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL
chancery:
2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 265-6900, 6901
consulate(s) general:
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador George F. JONES
embassy:
99-100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown
mailing address:
P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown
telephone:
[592] (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969
FAX:
[592] (2) 58497
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:
Guyana, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, has pushed
ahead strongly in 1992-94, with an 8% average annual economic growth rate,
led by gold mining, and rice, sugar, and forestry products for export.
Favorable factors include recovery in the key agricultural and mining
sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative, a more
realistic exchange rate, a sharp drop in the inflation rate, and the
continued support of international organizations. Serious underlying
economic problems will continue. Electric power has been in short supply and
constitutes a major barrier to future gains in national output. The
government will have to persist in efforts to manage its large $2.2 billion
external debt, control inflation, and to extend the privatization program.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
8.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$1,950 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.5% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
12% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$23.7 million
expenditures:
$19.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports:
$475 million (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities:
sugar, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses
partners:
UK 33%, US 31%, Canada 9%, France 5%, Japan 3% (1992)
Imports:
$456 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities:
manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
partners:
US 37%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, UK 11%, Italy 8%, Japan 5% (1992)
External debt:
$2.2 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 5.6% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
110,000 kW
production:
230 million kWh
consumption per capita:
286 kWh (1993)
Industries:
bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles,
gold mining
Agriculture:
most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and about half 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
Economy
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela -
to the US and Europe; producer of cannabis
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $325 million;
Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
Currency:
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1 - 142.7 (January 1995), 138.3 (1994), 126.7
(1993), 125.0 (1992), 111.8 (1991), 39.533 (1990)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
100 km NA-m gauge industrial lines for the transport of minerals, including
bauxite
Highways:
7,665 km
paved:
550 km
unpaved:
gravel 5,000 km; earth 2,115 km
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:
Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika
Merchant marine:
total:
1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,317 GRT/2,558 DWT
Airports:
54
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
3
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
1
with paved runways under 914 m:
34
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
14
Communications
Telephone system:
over 27,000 telephones; fair system for long distance calling
local:
NA
intercity:
microwave radio relay network for trunk lines
international:
tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth
station
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 3, shortwave 1
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
0
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air
Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 198,665; males fit for military service 150,573 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
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This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).
The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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