The World Factbook (1990)/Guyana
Guyana
_Guyana.jpg)
See regional map IV
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: Essequibo area 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: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 83% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons; water pollution
People
Population: 764,649 (July 1990), growth
rate -0.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -19 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective—Guyanese
Ethnic divisions: 51% East Indian, 43% black and mixed, 4% Amerindian, 2% European and Chinese
Religion: 57% Christian, 33% Hindu, 9% Muslim, 1% other
Language: English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy: 85%
Labor force: 268,000; 44.5% industry and commerce, 33.8% agriculture, 21.7% services; 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
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; 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—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 6 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; Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy (VLD, also known as Liberator Party), Gunraj Kumar, J. K. Makepeace Richmond
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: Executive President—last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held late 1990); Hugh Desmond Hoyte was elected president (the leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly elections—PNC 78%);
National Assembly—last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held by 9 December 1990); 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); Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICJ, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
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 Theresa A. TULL; 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 1984-87, GDP dropped
by 3% in 1988, the result of bad weather,
labor trouble in the canefields, and
flooding and equipment problems in the
bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose
about 35%, 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: $323 million, per capita $420; real growth rate -3.0% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $173 million; expenditures $414 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $215 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.) commodities—bauxite, sugar, rice, shrimp, gold, molasses, timber, rum; partners—UK 37%, US 12%, Canada 10.6%, CARICOM 4.8% (1986)
Imports: $216 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities—manufactures machinery, food, petroleum; partners—CARICOM 41%, US 18%, UK 9%, Canada 3% (1984)
External debt: $1.8 billion, including arrears (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate -5.0% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 221,000 kW capacity; 583 million kWh produced, 760 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and over 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
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $109 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $234 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $242 million
Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1—33.0000 (January 1990), 27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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 ocean-going vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Ports: Georgetown
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
Airports: 66 total, 63 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 12 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
(including Maritime Corps and Air
Corps), Guyana Police Force, Guyana
People's Militia, Guyana National Service
Military manpower: males 15-49, 201,104; 152,958 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 4.3% of GDP, or $13.8 million (1988 est.)