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An Overview of Guyana
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| Size and Population |
Guyana's total area is 214,970 km² (83,000
square miles). It has 2,462 km of land boundaries with its neighbours, Brazil,
Suriname and Venezuela, and a coastline of 459 km.
Population density is 3.4 persons per square kilometre but most people live
along the coast. At the census of 1991, Guyana's population was 723,827,
comprising 355,399 males and 368,428 females. By mid-1996 it was estimated
that the population had grown to 771,057. |
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| People |
| The present population of Guyana consists of
Africans, East Indians, Chinese, Portugese, Europeans, Amerindians, and
a mix of all of these races. The Amerindians
number 45,000 approximately and are divided into nine tribes, Arawaks,
Warraus, Caribs, Wapisianas, Arecunas, Akawaios, Macusis, Patamonas, and
Wai-Wais. These tribes are scattered throughout Guyana, inhabiting both
forest and savannah regions. Subsistance farming, basketry and craftwork,
are common to all tribes.
On the ranches in the savannah region, the Amerindians work as Vacqueiros
(Cowboys), while those inhabiting the rain forest are involved mainly
in gold and diamond mining and boat building.
Each tribe speaks its own dialect, and English to varying degrees, according
to their contact with English speaking coast-landers. Efforts are being
made to preserve their traditional customs and culture. |
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| Languages |
English is the official language of Guyana.
It is the language of education, commerce and government. Hindus and Moslems
ritually use Hindi, and Urdu and Arabic, respectively.
The majority of Amerindians in the hinterland still adhere to one or more
of the nine recognized tribal dialects namely, Akawaio, Arawak, Arecuna,
Carib, Macusi, Patamona, Wai Wai, Warrau and Wapishana.
Creolese, a sort of patois, is quite widely used and understood. It is based
on English with various borrowings from Dutch, Indian, African and Amerindian
languages. |
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| Government, Legal System and Economy |
The Parliamentary-style Government is based
on proportional representation with an Executive President and a unicameral
National Assembly consisting of 53 directly elected members and 12 indirectly
elected members. Under the 1980 Constitution, the country is divided into
ten regions and each region has an administrative body known as the Regional
Democratic Council.
The Legal System is based on Roman Dutch Law modified by British Common
Law. There are Magistrates' Courts, a High Court and a Court of Appeal.
Agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing and manufacturing are the major sectors
of the economy. The main agricultural exports are rice and sugar. Bauxite
and gold are the major mineral exports. |
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| Climate |
| The climate in Guyana is hot, but pleasant for
most of the year, particularly in the coastal belt which is cooled by the
ocean breeze. The average temperature ranges between 75°F and 87°F
(24°C and 31°C). The rainy season occurs in May and June, and then
again in December and January, with an average annual rainfall of 91 inches
(231 cm). |
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| Education |
The Education system is administered and supervised
by the Ministry of Education. There are four levels of education:
- • Nursery
Programme
- • Primary
(Elementary School) Level
- • Secondary
(High School) Level
- • University
There are also Vocational Programmes offered by
institutions such as the Carnegie School of Home Economics, Guyana School
of Agriculture and Government Technical Institute.
The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) offers a two-year training
programme for pre-primary and primary school teachers. |
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| Health Care |
Health conditions in Guyana deteriorated during
the 1980s and, the health situation is possibly now the worst in the Commonwealth
Caribbean. The State maintains hospitals at Bartica, Georgetown, Lethem,
Linden, New Amsterdam and Suddie and also operates several smaller clinics,
countrywide.
Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity. The incidence has climbed
from 263 in 1960 to 3202 in 1970 to 39,580 in 1992. Some of the highly endemic
areas are located where the exploitation of gold, diamonds and timber is
being carried out. The incidence of tuberculosis, likewise, increased from
17.32 cases per 100,000 population in 1991 to 31 per 100,000 in 1993. |
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| Air Transport |
The air transport system caters for both international
and domestic transport. The two most important airports are the Cheddi Jagan
International Airport, Timehri and the Ogle Municipal Aerodrome.
The Timehri airport, about 40 km south of Georgetown, serves both international
and domestic flights. Ogle airstrip, about 8 km miles east of Georgetown
is used for primarily domestic passenger service. |
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| Water Transport |
Facilitated by the ports at Georgetown, New
Amsterdam and Linden, this form of transport carries some 61 per cent of
total freight load, moving cane to the sugar mills, fertiliser to the cane
fields, bauxite ore to the coastal area, processed bauxite in bulk to overseas
points and imports to Guyana from points overseas.
The Transport and Harbours Department (THD) is the main state agency responsible
for public water transport maintaining stellings (wharves) in the coastal
region. International trade cargo is handled at the wharves of Georgetown,
the bauxite loading installation at Linden and another bauxite loading facility
at Everton. |
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| Road Transport |
Guyana's road network, about 2,400 km, provides
access for the population to the central services provided in Georgetown
as well as social and commercial links between the urban and rural centres.
Total passenger load, and about 38 per cent of the total freight load, are
serviced by primary roads, minor roads in the coastal region, and roads
and trails in forested and savannah regions. |
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