Guyana

• tropical;
• hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds;
• two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)

• mostly rolling highlands;
• low coastal plain;
• savanna in south

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay;
• substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

noun:

Guyanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Guyanese

conventional long form:

Cooperative Republic of Guyana

conventional short form:

Guyana

former:

British Guiana

name:

Georgetown

geographic coordinates:

6 48 N, 58 10 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN and reelected in 2001, and again in 2006

head of government:

Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since October 1992, except for a period as chief of state after the death of President Cheddi JAGAN on 6 March 1997)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature

elections:

• president elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five years (no term limits);
• elections last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of vote 54.6%

• Alliance for Change or AFC [Raphael TROTMAN and Khemraj RAMJATTAN];
• Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY];
• Justice for All Party [C.N. SHARMA];
• People's National Congress/Reform or PNC/R [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN];
• People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO];
• Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV];
• The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR];
• The Unity Party [Joey JAGAN];
• Vision Guyana [Peter RAMSAROOP];
• Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]

• Amerindian People's Association;
• Guyana Citizens Initiative;
• Guyana Bar Association;
• Guyana Human Rights Association;
• Guyana Public Service Union or GPSU;
• Private Sector Commission;
• Trades Union Congress

chief of mission:

Ambassador Bayney KARRAN

chancery:

2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-6900

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-1297

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador David M. ROBINSON

embassy:

100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown

mailing address:

P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown; US Embassy, 3170 Georgetown Place, Washington DC 20521-3170

telephone:

[592] 225-4900 through 4909

FAX:

[592] 225-8497

• 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

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• sugarcane, rice, wheat, vegetable oils;
• beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;
• fish, shrimp

general assessment:

fair system for long-distance service

domestic:

microwave radio relay network for trunk lines

international:

• country code - 592;
• tropospheric scatter to Trinidad;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

187 km

standard gauge:

139 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

48 km 0.914-m gauge

note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.)

total:

7,970 km

paved:

590 km

unpaved:

7,380 km (1999)

total:

7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,461 GRT/15,155 DWT

by type:

cargo 5, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1

foreign-owned:

1 (Germany 1)

registered in other countries:

4 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, unknown 1) (2006)

• 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 arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters

• transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US;
• producer of cannabis;
• rising money laundering related to drug trafficking and human smuggling