GUYANA                                                                          
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: 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.)                       
                                                                                
