Historical profile

The area before European settlement was inhabited by semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer Amerindian tribes, notably Arawaks and Caribs.

1498 Christopher Columbus first sighted Guyana.

1616 The Dutch built the first fort.

1640 The first African slaves arrived to work on sugar plantations. Settlements grew up in Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice and were sustained by trade through the Dutch West Ind

ia Company.

1763 The Berbice slave rebellion began on one plantation and spread to others along the Berbice river.

1781–1803 The Three colonies of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice, passed into the hands of the English, briefly to the French, back to the Dutch, then the English, then the Dutch and lastly back to the English.

1814 After the Napoleonic Wars the colonies of were ceded to Britain.

1831 The British administration merged the three colonies into British Guiana, but retained the Dutch administrative, legislative and legal system.

1834 Britain abolished slavery in all its territories. Many Indian and smaller numbers of Chinese and Japanese indentured labourers were brought to work on the estates.

1920 Indentureship ended.

1953 The General election was won by the People's Progressive Party (PPP), led by Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham. The British government deemed the government as pro-Communist and suspended the constitution. The PPP spilt and Burnham founded the People's National Congress/Reform (PNC) party.

1957 and 1961 The PPP won both general elections. Support began to grow for independence.

1964 Guyana's political system was generally viewed as fraudulent with Guyana a de facto one-party state and an 'administrative dictatorship'.

1965 The PPP won most seats in the general election, however a coalition of PNC and another minor, conservative, party formed a government. Burnham became prime minister and stayed in post in an increasingly authoritarian manner, until 1980

1966 Guyana gained independence.

1971 A UN tribunal convened to try and resolve the long-standing border dispute with neighbouring Venezuela concerning the oil-rich Essequibo region.

1980 A new constitution introduced the post of executive president, and Forbes Burnham became the first.

1985 President Burnham died. Desmond Hoyte became president. The one-party state and radical socialism was gradually replaced by a market economy. Austerity measures introduced in the late 1980s resulted in great civil unrest.

1992 The National Assembly and Regional Council were elected in the first free and fair general elections. Hoyte lost the presidency to former Marxist, Dr Cheddi Jagan (PPP).

1997 A PPP/Civic (PPC/C) coalition won the election, but PNC refused to accept the election results. Cheddi Jagan died in March. Samuel Hinds became president until December when Jagan’s widow Janet was elected president.

1998 After boycotting parliament since the 1997 election, the PNC returned to the National Assembly, following intervention by the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which carried out an independent audit of the election results and brokered an accord with the PNC, which also catered for a new constitution and fresh elections.

1999 Janet Jagan resigned the presidency due to ill-health; she was succeeded by Bharrat Jagdeo.

2000 Guyana had an agreement with the Canadian oil company CGX Energy to drill within waters also claimed by neighbouring Suriname. Suriname gunboats raided the exploration oil-rig sparking international tension; diplomatic proposals for joint exploration and exploitation failed.

2001 The general election was won by President Jagdeo's ruling PPP/C.

2002 A high-profile television presenter, Mark Benschop, was charged with treason after he was accused of inciting demonstrators to storm the presidential offices compound. The demonstrators were complaining of discrimination against Afro-Guyanese.

2003 A UN tribunal convened and tried, without success, to resolve the maritime border dispute with Suriname.

2004 CGX Energy announced it had begun exploration of inshore waters along the Cortenyne Coast, with drilling in the disputed Berbice area to start by September. A key witness in the trial of home affairs minister Ronald Gajraj was shot dead before he could testify about allegations of extra-judicial killings. The minister had stepped down after several months of procrastination and opposition inquiry. Guyana joined 12 South American countries in the launch of an economic and political bloc called the South American Community of Nations.

2005 Severe flooding in January affected half the country's population. By March, the economic effect was shown to be a 2.2 per cent reduction in the year’s economic growth, costing the nation about US$65 million. In April Ronald Gajraj was reinstated as home affairs minister, following a ruling by a presidential commission acquitting him of any wrongdoing, however the decision to reinstall the minister provoked international criticism. In May, Gajraj resigned his position.

2006 On 22 April, the agriculture minister, Satyadeow Sawh, was murdered. In elections on 28 August, President Jagdeo was re-elected with 54.6 per cent of the vote his PPP/C party won a majority with 36 seats in the 65-member parliament.

Political structure

The constitution was enacted in 1980, a decade after Guyana became a co-operative republic and 14 years after joining the Commonwealth.

Guyana is divided into 10 regions, each headed by a chairman who presides over a regional democratic council. Local communities are administered by village or city councils.

Co-operative republic

Executive power rests with the president, who appoints and supervises the prime minister and other ministers. The president is the presidential candidate chosen by the major party in the National Assembly. Most cabinet ministers are also members of the National Assembly; the constitution limits non-member technocrat ministers to five. Technocrat ministers serve as non-elected members, allowing them to debate, but not to vote.

The unicameral National Assembly comprises 40 members chosen on the basis of proportional representation from national lists named by the political parties and an additional 25 members, who are elected by regional administrative districts. The president may dissolve the Assembly and call new elections at any time, but no later than five years from its first sitting.

Guyana's legal system is based on Roman Dutch law modified by English common law. The country has a series of magistrates' courts and further appellate courts, a Court of Appeal, headed by a chancellor of the judiciary, and a High Court, presided over by a chief justice. The chancellor and the chief justice are appointed by the president.

An ombudsman investigates complaints against government departments or other authorities.

28 August 2006 (presidential and parliamentary)

Presidential: incumbent Bharrat Jagdeo (PPP/C) won 64.6 per cent of the vote; Robert Corbin (PNCR/1G) won 34 per cent; Raphael Trotman (Alliance for Change) won 8.1 per cent.

Parliamentary: PPP/C won 54.6 per cent of the vote (36 seats out 65); PNCR/1G 34 per cent (22 seats); Alliance for Change won 8.4 per cent (five seats); two other parties won one seat each. Turnout was 68.8 per cent.

2011 (general)

Political parties

People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic) (re-elected 28 Aug 2006)

People's National CongressReform/One Guyana (PNCR/1G)

Population

768,000 (2005)

September 2002: 751,223

Population

The population growth rate was negative during much of the 1980s due to emigration and a falling birth rate. Around one-third of the population is under 14 years of age.

East Indian (51 per cent) (resident mostly in agricultural areas) and Afro-Guyanese (30 per cent) (resident mostly in towns) make up the majority. The remainder are of Chinese and European heritage, or Amerindians, most of whom live in the west and south or on reserves.

The main groups of Amerindians are Arawak, Carib, Wapisiana and Warao. The Caribs include Akawaio, Macushi, Patamona and Waiwai.

Christian (approximately 50 per cent), Hindu (35 per cent) and Muslim (10 per cent).

Education

Education includes primary school, four to six years of secondary school and between three to four years of higher academic or practical education. Students are usually expected to remain in the school system until the age of 16. There are around 900 schools in Guyana.

Increased access to secondary education is supported by two bilateral funded education projects – the Guyana Education Access Programme (GEAP) and the Guyana Building Equity Project (GBET). In 2000 about 53 per cent of children had access to secondary education compared to 35 per cent between 1993–1999.

A five-year project funded by the British Department for International Development (DfID) is due for completion in 2005. The project focusses on improving school infrastructure, teaching and overall management of the education system. It should enable all Guyanese children to have access to quality education.

Health

Per capita total expenditure on health (2003) was US$283; of which per capita government spending was US$233, at the international dollar rate, (WHO 2006).

The government has stepped up provisions for drugs and medical supplies in all hospitals and health centres including facilities in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Improved water sources are available to 48 per cent of the population.

Welfare

The government has been developing new housing schemes, including distributing over 20,000 housing lots for a Low Income Settlement Project. The private sector has also been encouraged to assist in the development of the housing sector.

Main cities

Georgetown (capital, estimated population 227,700 in 2003), Linden (44,300), New Amsterdam (32,500).

Languages spoken

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America. Urdu, Hindi, Amerindian languages and Creole are also spoken. Along the Brazilian border, many Guyanese also speak Portuguese.

English

Media

Full press freedom is not guaranteed by the constitution. The government exercises indirect control over the press through restrictions on imported newsprint.

There is one state-owned daily newspaper Guyana Chronicle, affiliated to the People's National Congress (PNC).

These publications include the independent bi-weekly newspaper Stabroek News. Other weeklies are New Nation, Mirror (People's Progressive Party, Sunday), Catholic Standard and Sunday Chronicle.

The Official Gazette of Guyana is published weekly by the ministry of information. Guyana Business is published quarterly by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Georgetown. Professional periodicals include Sugar News (Guyana Sugar Corp, monthly) and Guymine News (Guyana Mining Enerprise Ltd).

Those covering local political news are Dayclean and Guyana Review.

Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) operates two radio stations (Radio Rorima and Voice of Guyana) on behalf of the government.

Most television reception is from neighbouring countries. Two local television services broadcast channels received by satellite from the US.

Economy

Guyana found difficulty in moving away from typical colonial dependency on primary industries after Independence in 1966. But since the early 1990s it has been attempting to transform itself from a state dominated to largely free-market economy. The external debt burden has been reduced by US$1 billion and with negotiated loan repayments to the Paris Club of foreign debtors, debt servicing in 2006 was 20 per cent of GDP, down from the 94 per cent in 1992. The Inter-American Development Bank is expected to write-off debts of US$460 million in 2007. Nevertheless, Guyana is included in the Heavily Indebted Poor Country initiative (HIPC), whereby for future loans the government undertakes macroeconomic reforms to control the economy, improve the accountability and transparency of the public sector and deliver public services, including health, education and a water supply. Raising the standards of living is important, with around 40 per cent of the population living below the poverty line.

The steep rise in global oil prices since 2004 and severe flooding in January 2005, which inundated coastal areas and caused 70,000 people to flee, causing damage estimated at US$465 million, impacted on the GDP growth rate. It was 1.6 per cent in 2004, but fell to -3.0 per cent in 2005; it is expected to recover to 0.7 per cent in 2006 and is projected to rise to 3.2 per cent in 2007, barring external shocks.

Agriculture plays a large role in Guyana’s economy, accounting for over 30 per cent of GDP, services account for over 40 per cent and industry 25 per cent, of which manufacturing is 10 per cent. Sugar is the principal crop and the sector employs around 30,000 people. However new European Union (EU) policies on sugar purchases caused production to fall when prices were cut. In 2006, the EU provided a loan of eur5.6 million (US$7 million) to upgrade the Enmore sugar factory, which will add value to the crop. Sugar production grew by 9.8 per cent to 259,588 tonnes in 2006, 13,000 tonnes more than in 2005. Livestock and forestry both registered growth in 2006 of 2 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

Mining is an important sector, with bauxite as the leading mineral, followed by gold. Venezuela supplies most of Guyana’s fuel needs, although Russian oil companies have been investing in exploring for oil.

The government has implemented tax reforms and a value added tax was introduced on 1 January 2007, set at 16 per cent.

Despite the government priority of promoting foreign investment and membership of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) inward investment has been slow. Social and political unrest between ethnic divisions of the country has proved a deterrent to foreign investors.

The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that in 2006 migrant workers sent some US$270 million to their families in Guyana.

External trade

Along with 11 other members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom), Guyana operates within the single market (Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME)), which became operational on 1 January 2006. CSME includes the free movement of goods and services, a common trade policy and external tariff.

Despite good export earnings for sugar in 2006 (US$145 million, up from US$118 million in 2005) the long-term prospects for the industry are deteriorating as preferential European Union sugar imports are curtailed by 2010. The export value of timber and fishing have increased but the government may halt the export of raw materials in favour of some processing within the country to boost value and foreign exchange.

Fuels and lubricants (typically up to 40 per cent of total), machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, food and chemicals.

US (26.7 per cent total, 2005), Trinidad and Tobago (23.9 per cent), Cuba (6.6 per cent), UK (5.0 per cent), China (4.1 per cent)

Sugar (over 40 per cent of total), bauxite and alumina, shrimps, rice, rum, timber, diamonds and gold.

Canada (18.9 per cent total, 2005), US (18.9 per cent), UK (11.7 per cent), Portugal (8.1 per cent), Jamaica (5.3 per cent), Trinidad and Tobago (4.2 per cent)

Agriculture

Agriculture is a very important economic activity in Guyana. The sector employs approximately 35 per cent of the workforce and contributes a similar amount to the country’s total GDP.

The sugar industry is an important export earner, responsible for around 46 per cent of total exports. Rice accounts for 12 per cent of Guyana's export earnings and 19 per cent of its agricultural contribution to GDP.

About 2 per cent of the total land area is under cultivation. Cultivation of cash crops is confined to the alluvial coastal plain.

The main cash crops are sugar, rice and shrimps. In July 2004 the European Union (EU) decision to cut the price of imported sugar, by up to 20 per cent in 2005 and 33 per cent in 2007, sparked demonstrations of the visiting EU delegation. The EU proposal would mean a cut of US$0.10 per pound and could cost Guyana over US$37 million. Ironically the changes came in a year of a bumper sugar crop, when Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) reported that 324,940 tonnes, the second highest production in 15 years had been harvested.

Guyana is self-sufficient in sugar, rice, vegetables, fish, meat and fruit and increased government investment in the sector has improved production of many other products. Cassava is the principal crop grown in the interior.

Emphasis is also being placed on the cultivation of oil palms, soya beans and corn, and on the development of dairy farming.

There is a national herd of livestock of between 200,000–250,000 head which are ranched on the Rupununi savannah in the south-east.

The estimated crop production in 2005 included: 3,000,000 tonnes (t) sugar cane, 501,500t rice, 29,000t cassava, 45,000t coconuts, 12,200t citrus fruit, 17,000t bananas, 1,300t pulses, 40,300t roots and tubers, 6,420t oilcrops, 68,371t fruit in total, 41,800t vegetables in total. Estimated livestock production included: 26,660t meat in total, 1,750t beef, 700t pig meat, 520t lamb, 260t goat meat, 23,430t poultry, 465t eggs, 30,000t milk, 74t honey.

The fishing industry represents a valuable source of income to the economy of Guyana. Produce is sold on both domestic and international markets and the industry employs approximately 5 per cent of the country’s total workforce.

Guyana is the region's largest exporter of shrimp, which make up 14 per cent of total exports. Government initiatives in the fishing sector include the improvement of fisheries management and the encouragement of investment in unexploited marine stocks. The typical annual fish catch is over 55,000mt, of which 27,000mt is shellfish.

In January 2004, Guyana obtained certification to export fishery products to European countries.

In 2004, the total marine fish catch was 37,312 tonnes and the total crustacean catch was 18,605 tonnes.

Guyana is one of the most densely forested countries in the world. Approximately 95 per cent of the country’s total land mass is covered by forest and woodland.

All the forests are state-owned. Sawnwood and plywood are the principal forest products; pulp and paper, however, are imported.

Timber imports in 2004 were US$3.8 million, while exports amounted to US$29.3 million.

Timber production in 2004 included 1,347,302 cubic metres (cum) roundwood, 481,000cum industrial roundwood, 36,000cum sawnwood, 100,000cum pulpwood, 366,000cum sawlogs & veneer logs, 54,000cum wood-based panels, 866,302cum wood fuel, 21,718t charcoal.

Industry and manufacturing

The expansion of the industrial sector has traditionally been hampered by a lack of domestic energy supplies together with a dearth of technical and managerial personnel. At present the sector contributed roughly 10 per cent of total GDP and employs approximately 10 per cent of the total work force.

Previously, a serious shortage of foreign exchange had also caused the closure of many firms relying on imported inputs. However, the government is trying to expand the country's industrial base with a policy of diversification and greater encouragement of foreign investors to work with the predominant state sector.

Guyana's manufacturing industry is dominated by the processing of raw materials. Activity related to the mining sector (predominantly bauxite, gold and diamonds) and the processing of agricultural products such as sugar, rice, coconuts and timber, together account for about three-quarters of manufacturing activity. The remainder is accounted for by small-scale import substitution production for the local market. A shortfall in investment is a recurring problem.

In December 2003, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago concluded an agreement to import raw sugar from Guyana in 2004, to meet the additional requirements of the sugar refinery operated by the Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited (SCML).

Tourism

The tourism industry in Guyana is growing relatively quickly, but the industry’s potential remains to be fully exploited. The sector is increasing in importance as an economic activity and currently contributes 9.3 per cent to GDP while accounting for 7.7 per cent of total employment.

Development is at an early stage with much work to be done to establish the necessary infrastructure and conditions. There are problems of safety and waste management. Eco-tourism is seen as the way forward. Visitor numbers declined sharply in the 1990s and did not recover until 2000. Numbers are still struggling to return to the 1994 level of 113,000 arrivals. There were 100,911 visitors in 2003 and this figure rose again to 126,200 in 2004. Most visitors are overseas Guyanese and Caribbean nationals.

Environment

In mid-January 2005 severe rains and flooding caused extensive damage to Guyana’s infrastructure, killing dozens and leaving around 20,000 people temporarily homeless as they waited for flood waters to subside.

Mining

Both mining and quarrying are of great importance to Guyana’s economy. Both activities combined, amount to 25 per cent of total GDP and account for approximately 12 per cent of the country’s total work force.

Annual gold production averages 440,000 ounces, 70 per cent of which comes from Omai Gold Mines, a US$300 million venture. Cambior and Golden Star Resources – Canadian companies – own 65 per cent and 30 per cent of Omai, respectively, and the Guyana government owns 5 per cent. In mid-2003, residents of western Guyana began legal action against Omai for allegedly allowing a dam to collapse on the Essequibo river in 1995, pouring 2.9 million cubic metres of cyanide-tainted slurry into the river. Around 23,000 residents supporting the writ want Omai to pay US$2 billion in damages and are demanding an end to the dumping of toxic waste into the river. A similar writ was issued in 2000, but was thrown out by the courts on technical grounds.

Royalties paid to Guyana's Gold Board are linked to world gold prices. An estimated one-fifth of gold production is smuggled across the borders to Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname by local miners. There is also inefficient alluvial mining by some 10,000 miners using dredgers and suctions.

Bauxite is the country's most important mineral, typically accounting for around a quarter of total export earnings. Production slumped in the early 1980s, prompting the government to seek outside help for the management of the industry.

There are known deposits of kaolin, molybdenum, uranium, copper, semi-precious stones, talc, soapstone and high-silica sand, which the government would like to develop.

In a typical year, Guyana's gold production is estimated to be 384,000 ounces.

Hydrocarbons

In June 2004, a UN tribunal was empowered to settle a dispute over potentially oil-rich territory clamed by both Guyana and Suriname. The disputed maritime area includes an oil-rich concession granted to a Canadian company. At present Guyana imports oil, primarily from Venezuela under preferential terms. It is estimated, that if the border dispute is settled in Guyana’s favour, the country's oil output would double that of Trinidad and Tobago.

Gas and coal are neither produced nor imported.

Energy

Guyana continues to be heavily dependent on imported oil from both Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago in order to meet its energy needs. The country does have considerable potential for hydroelectric power generation however.

The International Development Association (IDA) has financed a project to evaluate Guyana's petroleum reserves, and a licence has been given to Petrel USA, to explore for offshore oil.

Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC) is government-subsidised, and much of its financing is from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). A number of the GEC's existing thermal stations are being rehabilitated.

The GEC's commissioning of the US$17 million 22MW Wartsila generating plant has brought total capacity in the Demerara system up to 94MW, which is sufficient to meet peak demand.

Banking and insurance

Guyana's banking and financial services industry is concentrated in the capital Georgetown. The Central Bank of Guyana regulates the industry.

Bank of Guyana

Georgetown