_#_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 NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 6%; forest and woodland 83%; other 8%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons;
water pollution
_*_People
_#_Population: 749,508 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 20 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Guyanese
_#_Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian
4%, European and Chinese 2%
_#_Religion: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
_#_Language: English, Amerindian dialects
_#_Literacy: 95% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 268,000; industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture
33.8%, services 21.7%; 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--Executive 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
NA 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;
United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY;
National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Executive President--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be
held mid-1991); Hugh Desmond HOYTE was elected president (the
leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly
elections);
National Assembly--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held
mid-1991);
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);
Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor
groups as well as several of the smaller parties; Guyana Council of
Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC);
the latter two organizations are small and active but not well
organized; Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy (GUARD) includes
various labor groups, as well as several of the smaller political
parties
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, 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 George JONES; 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
1986-87, GDP dropped by 3% a year in 1988-89. The decline resulted from
bad weather, labor trouble in the canefields, and flooding and equipment
problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about 35% in 1988
and by over 100% in 1989, 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: $287.2 million, per capita $380; real growth rate - 3.3%
(1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 105% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 12-15% (1991 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $65 million; expenditures $129 million, including
capital expenditures of $6 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $234 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.);
commodities--bauxite, sugar, gold, rice, shrimp, molasses, timber,
rum;
partners--UK 31%, US 23%, CARICOM 7%, Canada 6% (1988)
_#_Imports: $319 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.);
commodities--manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;
partners--US 33%, CARICOM 10%, UK 9%, Canada 2% (1989)
_#_External debt: $1.7 billion, including arrears (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 10.0% (1989 est.); accounts
for more than 20% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 250,000 kW capacity; 635 million kWh produced,
830 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing
(shrimp), textiles, gold mining
_#_Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and
about 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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $244 million; Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
_#_Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1--45.00 (since June
1990), 39.533 (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 oceangoing vessels for
150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively
_#_Ports: Georgetown
_#_Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 58 total, 55 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; none with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
14 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 (GDF; includes Coast Guard
and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana People's Militia (GPM),
Guyana National Service (GNS)
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 195,142; 148,477 fit for
military service
_#_Defense expenditures: $5.5 million, 6% of GDP (1989 est.)
_%_
_@_Haiti
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
_#_Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic
_#_Coastline: 1,771 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;