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

agricultural land:

8.4%;

• arable land 2.1%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 6.2%

forest:

77.4%

other:

14.2% (2011 est.)

total:

1.64 cu km/yr (4%/1%/94%)

per capita:

2,222 cu m/yr (2010)

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

noun:

Guyanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Guyanese

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.81 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria (2013)

total number:

30,255

percentage:

16% (2006 est.)

conventional long form:

Cooperative Republic of Guyana

conventional short form:

Guyana

former:

British Guiana

name:

Georgetown

geographic coordinates:

6 48 N, 58 09 W

time difference:

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

• several previous;
• latest promulgated 6 October 1980;
• amended many times, last in 2007 (2013)

chief of state:

President Donald RAMOTAR (since 03 December 2011)

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 National Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the National Assembly from party lists to serve a 5-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held by December 2016);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Donald RAMOTAR (PPP/C) elected president by National Assembly; percent of vote - 48.6%

description:

unicameral National Assembly (65 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies and a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 11 May 2015 (next to be held by May 2020)

election results:

percent of vote by party - APNU 50.3%, PPP/C 49.19%, other 0.51%; seats by party - APNU 33, PPP/C 32

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Judicature (consists of the Court of Appeal with a chief justice and 3 justices, and the High Court with a chief justice and 10 justices organized into 3- or 5-judge panels);
• note - in 2009, Guyana ceased final appeals in civil and criminal cases to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London), replacing it with the Caribbean Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the Caribbean Community

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Appeal and High Court chief justices appointed by the president;
• other judges of both courts appointed by the Judicial Service Commission, a body appointed by the president;
• judges appointed for life with retirement at age 65

subordinate courts:

Land Court; magistrates' courts

• A Partnership for National Unity or APNU [David A. GRANGER]
• Alliance for Change or AFC [Khemraj RAMJATTAN]
• Justice for All Party [C.N. SHARMA]
• People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Donald RAMOTAR]
• Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]
• The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]
• The Unity Party [Joey JAGAN]
• Vision Guyana [Peter RAMSAROOP]

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Bayney KARRAN (since 4 December 2003)

chancery:

2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-6900

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-1297

consulate(s) general:

New York

consulate(s):

Houston, Miami

chief of mission:

Ambassador D. Brent HARDT (since 19 August 2011)

embassy:

US 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;
• green represents forest and foliage;
• yellow stands for mineral resources and a bright future;
• white symbolizes Guyana's rivers;
• red signifies zeal and the sacrifice of the people;
• black indicates perseverance

name:

"Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains"

lyrics/music:

Archibald Leonard LUKERL/Robert Cyril Gladstone POTTER

note: adopted 1966

• sugarcane, rice, edible oils;
• beef, pork, poultry;
• shrimp, fish

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

33.8% (1999)

general assessment:

• fair system for long-distance service;
• microwave radio relay network for trunk lines;
• many areas still lack fixed-line telephone services

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity is about 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity about 70 per 100 persons in 2011

international:

• country code - 592;
• tropospheric scatter to Trinidad;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

• government-dominated broadcast media;
• the National Communications Network (NCN) TV is state-owned;
• a few private TV stations relay satellite services;
• the state owns and operates 2 radio stations broadcasting on multiple frequencies capable of reaching the entire country;
• government limits on licensing of new private radio stations continue to constrain competition in broadcast media (2007)

total:

7,970 km

paved:

590 km

unpaved:

7,380 km (2000)

country comparison to the world: 141

total:

10

by type:

cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1

registered in other countries:

3 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, unknown 1) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 114

males age 16-49:

133,239

females age 16-49:

147,719 (2010 est.)

male:

8,849

female:

8,460 (2010 est.)

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

current situation:

• Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• Guyanese and foreign women and girls are forced into prostitution in Guyana;
• forced labor, especially of children, is reported in mining, agriculture, forestry, domestic service, and shops;
• Indonesian workers are victims of forced labor on Guyanese-flagged fishing boats

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however,it is making significant efforts to do so;
• limited efforts were made to protect and provide assistance to victims in 2013, and authorities operated a hotline for trafficking victims;
• the government failed to increase its efforts to hold trafficking offenders accountable with jail time, creating an enabling environment for human trafficking and further endangering victims (2014)

• 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