# The World Factbook (1990)/Guyana

pages 131–132
​Guyana
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.)