Guyana
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THE GUYANA COAT OF ARMS
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 Location of Guyana within the continent of South America | |||
 Map of Gayuna | |||
 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; green represents forest and foliage; yellow stands for mineral resources and a bright future; white symbolizes Guyana's rivers; red signifies zeal and the sacrifice of the people; black indicates perseverance |
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Republic of Guyana
- The Guyana is divided into Regions, Cities, Towns, and Villages.
- Capital City: Georgetown
Official name Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Form of government unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [651])
Head of state President: Donald Ramotar
Head of government Prime Minister: Sam Hinds
Official language English
Official religion none
Monetary unit Guyanese dollar (G$)
Population (2013 est.) 759,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 83,012
Total area (sq km) 214,999
Urban-rural population
- Urban: (2005) 38.5%
- Rural: (2005) 61.5%
Life expectancy at birth
- Male: (2012) 63.6 years
- Female: (2012) 71.4 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate
- Male: (2005) 99.2%
- Female: (2005) 98.7%
GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2013) 3,750
1Excludes one nonelected minister and the speaker.
Background of Guyana
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to settlement of urban areas by former slaves and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. The resulting ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been 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. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006. Donald RAMOTAR was elected president in 2011.
GuGuyana’s populace is mainly of colonial origin, although Indians are scattered throughout the forested interior. The more numerous coastal peoples are chiefly descendants of slaves from Africa and indentured workers from India, who were originally transported to work the coastal sugarcane plantations. Ethnic problems between the last two groups have played a disruptive role in Guyanese society.
Guyana has been a member of the Commonwealth (an international group made up of the United Kingdom and a number of its former dependencies) since 1970. Politically, however, Guyana moved on a steady course toward communism from the time of independence until the death of the first prime minister, Forbes Burnham, in 1985, after which ties with Western powers were strengthened, and by the 1990s privatization had begun.yana, country located in the northeastern corner of South America. Indigenous peoples inhabited Guyana prior to European settlement, and their name for the land, guiana (“land of water”), gave the country its name. Present-day Guyana reflects its British and Dutch colonial past and its reactions to that past. It is the only English-speaking country of South America. Since Guyana gained its independence in 1966, the country’s chief economic assets have been its natural resources, mainly its pristine rainforests, sugarcane plantations, rice fields, and bauxite and gold reserves. Despite these riches, Guyana remains one of the poorest countries in South America. The capital and chief port is Georgetown.
| THE NATIONAL ANTHEM | GUYANA's NANATIONAL PLEDGE TO THE FLAG | SONG OF THE REPUBLIC |
|---|---|---|
|
Dear land of Guyana, of rivers and plains |
I pledge myself to honor always the Flag of Guyana |
From Pakaraima's peak of pow'r We'll forge a nation's might soul Guyana, climb the glorious perch |
The Guyana coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on an escutcheon (i.e. shield), surcoat, or tabard. A surcoat, and subsequently a coat of arms was used by medieval knights to cover, protect, and identify the wearer. Thus these are sometimes called coat armory. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement which consists of shield, supporters, crest, and motto. The design is a symbol unique to an individual person or family (except in the UK), corporation, or state. Such displays are commonly called armorial bearings, armorial devices, heraldic devices, or simply arms.
Sometimes the term coat of arms is used to refer to the full achievement, but this usage is wrong in a strict sense of heraldic terminology.[1][2]
The ancient Romans used similar insignias on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals. The first evidence of medieval coats of arms is found in the Bayeux Tapestry from the 11th Century, where some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th Century. By the 13th Century arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a kind of flag or logo for families in the higher social classes of Europe, inherited from one generation to the next. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, varied to some degree between countries. In the German-speaking region both the aristocracy and burghers (non-noble free citizens) used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of arms spread to Church clergy, and to towns as civic identifiers, and to royally-chartered organizations such as universities and trading companies. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology and heraldry are closely related. The coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo.
Despite no widespread regulation, and even with a lack in many cases of national regulation, heraldry has remained rather consistent across Europe, where traditions alone have governed the design and use of arms.[citation needed] Unlike seals and other general emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon, expressed in a jargon that allows for consistency in heraldic depictions.
In the 21st century, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals; for example, many European cities and universities have guidelines on how their coats of arms may be used, and protect their use as trademarks.[3][4][5] Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms. Some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day.
The Guianas
The Guianas, region of South America, located on the continent’s north-central coast and covering an area of about 181,000 square miles (468,800 square km). It includes the independent nations of Guyana and Suriname and French Guiana, an overseas département of France. The region is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, on the east and south by Brazil, and on the west by Venezuela. In the late 20th century, boundary disputes remained unsettled between Venezuela and Guyana, Guyana and Suriname, and Suriname and French Guiana.
The Guianas are subdivided into three principal zones from south to north: the Precambrian Guiana Shield, a region of low mountains that lies along the southern borders of the three states and rises to the region’s highest point, Mount Roraima, 9,094 feet (2,772 metres); a lower region of hilly country covered by a tropical hardwood forest and occasional savanna grasslands; and the low-lying, narrow alluvial plain along the Atlantic coast. The region’s name derives from an Indian word for such lowlands: guiana (“land of water”). Major rivers drain the highlands north-northeastward toward the sea. The region has a year-round humid tropical climate that is tempered along the coast by offshore sea breezes. About 80–90 percent of the region is covered by dense tropical forests containing many valuable species of wood. Settlement and commercial agriculture are largely confined to the coastal areas and the lower, navigable river valleys. The region’s rich and diverse wildlife includes jaguars, pumas, ocelots, tapirs, deer, sloths, great anteaters, armadillos, caimans, and iguanas. The Guiana Shield is rich in minerals, but only bauxite is exploited on a large scale by Guyana and Suriname. The rivers have rich and partly developed potential for hydroelectric power.
The Guianas’ population ranges from indigenous American Indians to descendants of European colonizers, African slaves, East Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian indentured servants, Southeast Asian refugees, and Haitians. The languages of The Guianas are also varied and set the region apart from the rest of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking South America. French, Dutch, and English are the official languages, respectively, of French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana, but there are also many speakers of a creole language combining the three with African and Asian dialects.
Mining, agriculture, forestry, and fishing are major components of the region’s economy. Agriculture is divided between commercial plantation crops, which are important regional exports, and domestic crops, largely grown on small individual farms in the interior. Cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised on small farms, and fishing is a growing industry in the region. Forestry likewise is a growing industry, and the region’s timber resources are plentiful. Guyana and Suriname rank among the world’s largest bauxite and alumina producers. Manufacturing is only partly developed in the region, concentrated largely on processing domestic raw materials for export. The region’s principal exports include bauxite, aluminum, alumina, shrimp and fish, rice, and lumber.
The earliest-known American Indians of the Guianas called the land Surinen, whence the name Suriname originated. The earliest European explorers were Spaniards under Amerigo Vespucci in the early 1500s. Despite Spain’s claim to the area in 1593, the Dutch began in 1602 to settle along the Essequibo, Courantyne, and Cayenne rivers and were followed by the Dutch West India Company (1621), which received what is now Guyana, and later Suriname. The company introduced African slaves to work its tobacco, cotton, and coffee plantations. Part of Suriname in the meantime was colonized by the English sent from Barbados in 1651. The French settled first in a trading post at Sinnamary in 1624 and later established Cayenne (1643).
Under the Treaty of Breda (1667), the Dutch received Suriname from England in exchange for Nieuw Amsterdam (New York), and the French were awarded French Guiana, setting the stage for the expulsion of Dutch settlers from Cayenne. Following these political settlements, sugar became the major plantation crop, and between 1742 and 1786 numerous British planters from the West Indies transferred to the Dutch-ruled Guianas, particularly the western one, and the use of slaves rose sharply.
With the outbreak of the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic conquest of Europe, the British temporarily occupied the Dutch Guianas. Following Napoleon’s final defeat (1815), the British purchased the Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo colonies and consolidated their colonies into British Guiana (1831). The abolition movement that had developed in England resulted in a cessation of the slave trade in 1807, followed by emancipation in 1834–38. French Guiana abolished slavery in 1848, and Dutch-ruled Suriname did the same in 1863. The majority of the freed slaves refused to return to plantation labour, and the colonists therefore brought in indentured servants from India, China, and Southeast Asia.
In British Guiana settlers discovered gold in 1879, thereby inaugurating the exploitation of mineral resources that have since become the dominant industries of Guyana and Suriname. Bauxite was first discovered (1915) in Suriname and subsequently in British Guiana. French Guiana in 1946 became a French overseas département, while Suriname underwent constitutional reform (1948–51) and was granted self-government by the Netherlands in 1954 and independence in 1975. British Guiana was granted its own constitution in 1953 and achieved independence as Guyana in 1966.
Geography of Guyana
- Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
- Geographic Coordinate: 5 00 N, 59 00 W
- Map Reference: South America
total: 214,969 sq km
- Area
- country comparison to the world: 85
- land: 196,849 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 August, November to January)
- Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
- Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m
- Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
- Land use:
- arable land: 1.95%
- permanent crops: 0.13%
- other: 97.92% (2011)
- Irrigated land: 1,501 sq km (2003)
- Total renewable water resources: 241 cu km (2011)
- Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
- total: 1.64 cu km/yr (4%/1%/94%)
- per capita: 2,222 cu m/yr (2010)
- Natural hazards: flash flood threat during rainy seasons
- 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
- 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
Guyana, country located in the northeastern corner of South America. Indigenous peoples inhabited Guyana prior to European settlement, and their name for the land, guiana (“land of water”), gave the country its name. Present-day Guyana reflects its British and Dutch colonial past and its reactions to that past. It is the only English-speaking country of South America. Since Guyana gained its independence in 1966, the country’s chief economic assets have been its natural resources, mainly its pristine rainforests, sugarcane plantations, rice fields, and bauxite and gold reserves. Despite these riches, Guyana remains one of the poorest countries in South America. The capital and chief port is Georgetown.--->>>>Read More.<<<
Demography of Guyana
- Nationality:
- noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
- adjective: Guyanese
- Ethnic groups: East Indian 43.5%, black (African) 30.2%, mixed 16.7%, Amerindian 9.1%, other 0.5% (2002 census)
- Languages: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu
- Religions: Protestant 30.5% (Pentecostal 16.9%, Anglican 6.9%, Seventh Day Adventist 5%, Methodist 1.7%), Hindu 28.4%, Roman Catholic 8.1%, Muslim 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other Christian 17.7%, other 1.9%, none 4.3%, unspecified 0.9% (2002 est.)
- Demographic profile: Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and shares cultural and historical bonds with the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana's two largest ethnic groups are the Afro-Guyanese (descendants of African slaves) and the Indo-Guyanese (descendants of Indian indentured laborers), which together comprise about three quarters of Guyana's population. Tensions periodically have boiled over between the two groups, which back ethnically based political parties and vote along ethnic lines. Poverty reduction has stagnated since the late 1990s. About one-third of the Guyanese population lives below the poverty line; indigenous people are disproportionately affected. Although Guyana's literacy rate is reported to be among the highest in the Western Hemisphere, the level of functional literacy is considerably lower, which has been attributed to poor education quality, teacher training, and infrastructure.
Guyana's emigration rate is among the highest in the world - more than 55% of its citizens reside abroad - and it is one of the largest recipients of remittances relative to GDP among Latin American and Caribbean counties. Although remittances are a vital source of income for most citizens, the pervasive emigration of skilled workers deprives Guyana of professionals in healthcare and other key sectors. More than 80% of Guyanese nationals with tertiary level educations have emigrated. Brain drain and the concentration of limited medical resources in Georgetown hamper Guyana's ability to meet the health needs of its predominantly rural population. Guyana has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the region and continues to rely on international support for its HIV treatment and prevention programs.
- Population: 735,554
- country comparison to the world: 165
- 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2014 est.)
- Age structure:
- 0-14 years: 29% (male 108,703/female 104,793)
- 15-24 years: 21% (male 79,354/female 74,921)
- 25-54 years: 37.2% (male 142,348/female 131,108)
- 55-64 years: 7.5% (male 24,677/female 30,562)
- 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,318/female 22,770) (2014 est.)
- Dependency ratios:
- total dependency ratio: 63.5 %
- youth dependency ratio: 57.7 %
- elderly dependency ratio: 5.7 %
- potential support ratio: 17.5 (2014 est.)
- Median age:
- total: 25 years
- male: 24.6 years
- female: 25.4 years (2014 est.)
- Population growth rate:
- -0.11% (2014 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 204
- Birth rate:
- 15.9 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 125
Death rate:
- 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 122
- Net migration rate:
- -9.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 214
- Urbanization:
- urban population: 28.4% of total population (2011)
- rate of urbanization: 0.53% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
- Major urban areas - population:
- GEORGETOWN (capital) 127,000 (2011)
- Sex ratio:
- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
- Mother's mean age at first birth: 20.8
- note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2009 est.)
- Maternal mortality rate:
- 280 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
- country comparison to the world: 43
- Infant mortality rate:
- total: 33.56 deaths/1,000 live births
- country comparison to the world: 65
- male: 37.57 deaths/1,000 live births
- female: 29.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 67.81 years
- country comparison to the world: 162
- male: 64.82 years
- female: 70.96 years (2014 est.)
- Total fertility rate:
- 2.14 children born/woman (2014 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 106
- Contraceptive prevalence rate: 42.5% (2009)
- Health expenditures:5.9% of GDP (2011)
- country comparison to the world: 114
- Physicians density: 0.21 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
- Hospital bed density: 2 beds/1,000 population (2009)
- Drinking water source:trr
improved:
- unimproved:
- urban: 3.4% of population
- rural: 2.1% of population
- total: 2.4% of population (2012 est.)
- Sanitation facility access:
improved:
- urban: 87.9% of population
- rural: 82% of population
- total: 83.6% of population
unimproved:
- urban: 12.1% of population
- rural: 18% of population
- total: 16.4% of population (2012 est.)
- HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.3% (2012 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 37
- HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 7,200 (2012 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 116
- HIV/AIDS - deaths:
- 100 (2012 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 134
- Major infectious diseases:
- degree of risk: very high
- food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria (2013)
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 17.2% (2008)
- country comparison to the world: 113
- Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 11.1% (2009)
- country comparison to the world: 66
- Education expenditures: 3.2% of GDP (2012)
- country comparison to the world: 136
- Literacy:
- definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
- total population: 91.8%
- male: 92%
- female: 91.6% (2002 Census)
- School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
- total: 10 years
- male: 9 years
- female: 11 years (2012)
- Child labor - children ages 5-14:
- total number: 30,255
- percentage: 16 % (2006 est.)
- Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
- total: 46.05%
- country comparison to the world: 8
- male: 43.59%
- female: 50% (2011)
Ethnic groups South Asians form the largest ethnic group in the country—they represent more than two-fifths of the population—and have been increasing more rapidly than other groups. Their ancestors arrived mostly as indentured labour from India to replace Africans in plantation work. Today South Asians remain the mainstay of plantation agriculture, and many are independent farmers and landowners; they also have done well in trade and are well represented among the professions.--->>>>Read More.<<<
Economy of Guyana
Economy - overview: The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Guyana has experienced positive growth almost every year over the past decade. Inflation has been kept under control. Recent years have seen the government's stock of debt reduced significantly - with external debt now less than half of what it was in the early 1990s. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. Despite recent improvements, the government is still juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to 21% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 60% in 2013. Guyana had become heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of Guyana's growth in recent years has come from a surge in gold production in response to global prices, although downward trends in gold prices may threaten future growth. In 2013, production of sugar dropped to a 23-year low.
- GDP (purchasing power parity): $6.593 billion (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 163 $6.26 billion (2012 est.) $5.972 billion (2011 est.)
- note: data are in 2013 US dollars
- GDP (official exchange rate): $3.02 billion (2013 est.)
- GDP - real growth rate: 5.3% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
- 4.8% (2012 est.)
- 5.4% (2011 est.)
- GDP - per capita (PPP):
- $8,500 (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 129
- $8,100 (2012 est.)
- $7,700 (2011 est.)
- note: data are in 2013 US dollars
- Gross national saving:
- 6.2% of GDP (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 145
- 8.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
- 9.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
- GDP - composition, by end use:
- household consumption: 85.6%
- government consumption: 16.3%
- investment in fixed capital: 22.5%
- investment in inventories: -13.5%
- exports of goods and services: 59.9%
- imports of goods and services: -70.8% (2013 est.)
- GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
- agriculture: 20.7%
- industry: 38.5%
- services: 40.8% (2013 est.)
- Agriculture - products: sugarcane, rice, edible oils; beef, pork, poultry; shrimp, fish
- Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
- Industrial production growth rate: 13.5% (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 5
- Labor force: :313,100 (2009 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 164
- Labor force - by occupation:
- agriculture: NA%
- industry: NA%
- services: NA%
- Unemployment rate: 11% (2007)
- country comparison to the world: 117
- Population below poverty line: 35% (2006)
- Household income or consumption by percentage share:
- lowest 10%: 1.3%
- highest 10%: 33.8% (1999)
- Distribution of family income - Gini index: 44.6 (2007)
- country comparison to the world: 44
- 43.2 (1999)
- Budget:
- revenues: $756.7 million
- expenditures: $948.5 million (2013 est.)
- Taxes and other revenues: 25.1% of GDP (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 126
- Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): -6.4% of GDP (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 183
- Public debt: 59.9% of GDP (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 49
- 59.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
- Fiscal year:
- calendar year
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 131
- 2.4% (2012 est.)
- Central bank discount rate:
- 5.5% (31 December 2011 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 87
- 4.25% (31 December 2010 est.)
- Commercial bank prime lending rate: 13.8% (31 December 2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 51
- 13.86% (31 December 2012 est.)
- Stock of narrow money:
- $601.8 million (31 December 2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 155
- $550.4 million (31 December 2012 est.)
- Stock of broad money:
- $1.617 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 158
- $1.49 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
- Stock of domestic credit:
"$1.352 billion (31 December 2013 est.) "country comparison to the world: 146 "$1.223 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
- Market value of publicly traded shares:
- $610.9 million (31 December 2012 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 102
- $440.4 million (31 December 2011)
- $NA (31 December 2010 est.)
- Current account balance:
- -$510.7 million (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 102
- -$394.8 million (2012 est.)
- Exports:
- $1.337 billion (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 151
- $1.396 billion (2012 est.)
- Exports - commodities: sugar, gold, bauxite, alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber
- Exports - partners: US 30.8%, Canada 28.9%, UK 6.2% (2012)
- Imports: $2.039 billion (2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 164
- $1.978 billion (2012 est.)
- Imports - commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
- Imports - partners: US 22.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 21.9%, China 12.3%, Cuba 6.1%, Suriname 4% (2012)
- Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $854.7 million (31 December 2013 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 139
- $864 million (31 December 2012 est.)
- Debt - external:
- $1.846 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
- country comparison to the world: 144
- $1.846 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Exchange rates:
- Guyanese dollars (GYD) per US dollar -
205.9 (2013 est.) 204.36 (2012 est.) 203.64 (2010 est.) 203.95 (2009) 203.86 (2008)
Government of Guyana
- Country name:
- conventional long form: Cooperative Republic of Guyana
- conventional short form: Guyana
- former: British Guiana
- Government type:
- republic Capital:
- name: Georgetown
- geographic coordinates: 6 48 N, 58 09 W
- time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- 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 the UK)
- National holiday:
- Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
- Constitution: several previous; latest promulgated 6 October 1980; amended many times, last in 2007 (2013)
- Legal system: common law system, based on the English model, with some Roman-Dutch civil law influence
- International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Suffrage:
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch:
- chief of state: President Donald RAMOTAR (since 03 December 2011)
- head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since October 1992, except for a period as chief of state after the death of President Cheddi JAGAN on 6 March 1997)
- cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature
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Guyana in 2005
Guyana Area: 215,083 sq km (83,044 sq mi) Population (2005 est.): 751,000 Capital: Georgetown Chief of state: President Bharrat Jagdeo Head of government: Prime Minister Sam Hinds Severe flooding ...>>>Read On<<<
Guyana in 2004
Guyana Area: 215,083 sq km (83,044 sq mi) Population (2004 est.): 752,000 Capital: Georgetown Chief of state: President Bharrat Jagdeo Head of government: Prime Minister Sam Hinds In January 2004 ...>>>Read On<<<
Disclaimer
This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].
Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.