Guyana

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Claimed for Vicki Phelps by Mary Anglin. Thanks! Vicki - You might want to import a newer version. this is old.

Co-operative Republic
of Guyana
Flag Coat of arms
Flag of Guyana Coat of Arms of Guyana
National motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny
File:LocationGuyana.png
Principal language English
Capital Georgetown
President Bharrat Jagdeo
Prime minister Sam Hinds
Area
 - Total
 - % water 		Ranked 81st
214,970 km²
8.4%
Population
 - Total (2002)
 - Density 		Ranked 156th
 697,181
3.2/km²
Independence 1966
Currency Guyanese dollar
Time zone Universal Time -4
National anthem Dear Land of Guyana
Internet TLD .gy
Country calling code 592

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana is a nation on the northern coast of South America, just above the Equator and a part of the western part of the wider region of Guiana. The country is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela and to the north by the Atlantic Ocean. It is the third-smallest country in South America and approximately the size of Great Britain or Idaho.

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning Land of Many Waters, and the country is mostly characterized by vast unspoiled rain forests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and beautiful waterfalls. It is also famous as the location of the legendary El Dorado, the inspiration for The Lost World, for its friendly multicultural society, high biodiversity, prize-winning rum, wooden architecture, and Demerara sugar.

Though physically part of South America, culturally, Guyana is more Caribbean than Latin American—demonstrated by the fact that English is the main language.

Geography

Guyana can be divided into three regions: a narrow and fertile marshy plain along the Atlantic coast where most of the population lives, then a white sand belt more inland consisting of dense rainforests and containing most of Guyana's mineral deposits, and finally the larger interior highlands consisting mostly of mountains that gradually rise to the Brazilian border. Guyana's main mountains are contained here, including Mount Ayanganna (2042 m) and on Mount Roraima (2,835 m - highest mountain in Guyana) on the Brazil-Guyana-Venezuela tri-point boundary, part of the Pakaraima range. There are also many steep escarpments and waterfalls, including the famous Kaieteur Falls. Between the Rupununi River and the border with Brazil lies the Rupununi savannah, south of which lie the Kanuku Mountains.

There are many rivers in the country, the main four being (west to east) the Essequibo, the Demerara, the Berbice and the Corentyne along the border with Suriname. At the mouth of the Essequibo are several large islands. The 145-km Shell Beach along the north-west coast of Guyana is a major breeding area for turtles and other wildlife.

The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, the second from mid-November to mid-January.

International disputes - 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.


History

At the time the first Europeans arrived in the area around 1500, Guyana was inhabited by Arawak and Carib tribes of Amerindians. European settlement began in the early 17th century with the Dutch, who established three separate colonies: Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). The British assumed control in the late 18th (?) century and the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. The three became a single British colony known as British Guiana in 1831.

The abolition of slavery in 1834 led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured laborers from Madeira (Portugal)(beginning in 1834), Germany (first in 1835), Ireland (1836), Scotland (1837), Malta (1839), China, and India (beginning in 1838) to work on the sugar plantations. In 1889 Venezuela claimed the land up to the Essequibo. Ten years later an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to British Guiana.

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic in 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

Politics

An ethnocultural divide between the two main ethnic groups has persisted and has on occasion led to turbulent politics.

The headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is located in Georgetown. The CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) will, by necessity, bring Caribbean-wide legislation into force and a Caribbean Court of Justice.


Economy

File:Guyanamap.gif
Map of Guyana

The main economic activities in Guyana are agriculture (producing rice and Demerara sugar), bauxite mining, gold mining, timber, shrimp and minerals. The sugar industry, which accounts for 28% of all export earnings, employs more people than any other industry. Many industries have a large foreign investment. The mineral industry, for example, is heavily invested in by American and Canadian companies, and a Korean/Malaysian joint venture has a large stake in the logging industry.

The Guyanese economy has exhibited moderate economic growth since 1999, based on an expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. Low prices for key mining and agricultural commodities combined with troubles in the bauxite and sugar industries threaten the government's already tenuous fiscal position and dim prospects for the future.

[[[don't keep next 3 ¶s looking like this; pick and choose info and form sentences—JW]]]

Economic Summary - GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $2.899 billion; per capita $3,800. Real growth rate: 1.9%. Inflation: 4.5%. Unemployment: 9.1% (2000) (understated). Arable land: 2%. Labor force: 418,000 (2001 est.); agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a. Agriculture: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp. Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining. Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish. Exports: $570.2 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber. Imports: $650.1 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food. Major trading partners: Canada, U.S., UK, Portugal, Belgium, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, Cuba (2003)

Communications - Telephones: main lines in use: 80,400 (2002); mobile cellular: 87,300 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay U.S. satellite services) (1997). Internet hosts: 613 (2003). Internet users: 125,000 (2002).

Transportation - Railways: total: 187 km (all dedicated to ore transport) (2001 est.). 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: Georgetown. Airports: 49 (2004 est.).

Demographics

Guyana's population of 751,223 (2002) is diverse: the three major groups are the Indians or Indo-Guyanese (around 50%), who have remained predominantly rural; the Africans or Afro-Guyanese (about 36%-43%), who constitute the majority urban population; and the Amerindians (around 7%, some estimates say as low as 4%) who live in the country's interior. They are divided into a number of different groups, the main ones being the Akawaio, Arawak, Carib, Macushi, Makuxi, Pemon and Wapishana. Chinese, Europeans (mostly Portuguese and British), and those of mixed origins make up the remainder (roughly 2%). The overwhelming majority of the population — around 90% — live along the coastal strip, where population density is more than 115 persons per km². There is much racial tension between the Indian and African communities, and the two main parties are largely mono-racial.

Religion in Guyana runs mainly along racial lines. Christianity (50%) predominantly Anglicanism, is the main religion practiced by Afro-Guyanese, though some are Black Muslim or other Christian denominations. The Indo-Guyanese community mainly follow Hinduism (35%), though there is a sizable minority who practice Islam (10%). Guyana is the country with the largest percentage of Bahá'ís (7%).

Emigration has been a large and persistent problem in Guyana, with an estimated 500,000 Guyanese living abroad. Since independence, as many as 10,000 Guyanese have left and settled permanently in the United States alone per year and demand to emigrate remains very high. Canada, Britain and English-speaking Caribbean islands are the other main countries people choose to emigrate to. At the same time, the birth rate has fallen sharply, and because of the emigration, can no longer sustain the country's population level. Many in the government worry that the country may become depopulated, but few concrete steps have been taken to stem the outflow.

Culture

Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean. It is so similar that Guyana is included and accepted as a Caribbean nation. Only its geographical location differentiates it from the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean countries. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc. Guyana plays international cricket as a part of the West Indies cricket team, and the Guyana team plays first class cricket against other nations of the Caribbean.

The major religion in Guyana is Christianity, accounting for approx. 48% of the population. Hindus make up approx. 36%, while Muslims account for 12% of the population. The rest of the population is split into a number of other religious groups.

Sports in Guyana The major sports in Guyana are cricket, Softball cricket (beach cricket) and football. The minor sports in Guyana are netball, rounders, lawn tennis, basketball, table tennis, boxing, and a few others.

Languages English (official language), Amerindian dialects (see Cariban languages), Creole, Hindi, Urdu.

Trivia

  • The 1856 British Guiana 1c magenta stamp is considered the rarest in the world, with only one copy known to exist.
  • Guyana is the only South American country where the death penalty is still in use for serious crimes and where homosexuality remains illegal.
  • On November 18, 1978, the Jonestown Massacre took place in the jungle of Northwest Guyana; 912 members of the cult died in a mass suicide.
  • Guyanese people say that if you visit Guyana and "Eat Labba and Drink Creek Water", you are bound to return to Guyana. (Labba is a small agouti or South American rodent that is eaten in a dark stew called "pepper pot").


External links

Government

General

News media

  • - Guyana News and InformationOne of the most popular websites for current news and information, this site also hosts an email directory of people from the Guyanese Community and Discussion Forum.
  • GINA - Government Information Agency. Updated daily.
  • The Guyana Chronicle - Local daily government run newspaper.
  • Kaieteur news - Local daily independent newspaper.
  • Stabroek News - Local daily independent newspaper. Updated daily and maintains archives for 7 days.

Credits

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