Guyana
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Guyana (formerly "British Guiana') is a South American nation bounded on the west by Venezuela, on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by Suriname, and on the south by Brazil. It is 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.
Its main environmental issues are water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; and deforestation. Also flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons.
Background
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession.
The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics.
Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi Jagan was elected president in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet Jagan, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat Jagdeo, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006.
Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
Geographic Coordinates: 5 00 N, 59 00 W
Area: 214,970 km2 (196,850 km2 land and 18,120 km2 water)
arable land: 2.23%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 97.63% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 2,949 km - border countries: Brazil 1,606 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
Coastline: 459 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf to 200 nautical miles or to the outer edge of the continental margin
Natural Hazards: Flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
Terrain: Mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south. The highest point is Mount Roraima (2,835 metres)
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)
Capital: Georgetown
Biodiversity and Ecology
The North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) is characterized by its tropical climate. It extends in the Atlantic Ocean from the boundary with the Caribbean Sea to the Paraiba River estuary in Brazil. The LME owes its unity to the North Brazil Current, which flows parallel to Brazil’s coast and is an extension of the South Equatorial Current coming from the East. The LME is characterized by a wide shelf, and features macrotides and upwellings along the shelf edge. It has moderately diverse food webs and high production.
Terrestrial Ecoregions
- Guayanan Highlands moist forests
- Guianan mangroves
- Guianan moist forests
- Guyanan savanna
- Orinoco Delta swamp forests
- Paramaribo swamp forests
- Tepuis
- Uatuma-Trombetas moist forests
International Environmental Agreements
Guyana is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, and Tropical Timber 94.
People and Society
Population: 772,298 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure: Median age: 28.7 years
0-14 years: 25.7% (male 101,319/female 97,505)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 268,058/female 262,595)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 17,938/female 24,883) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.181% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 17.85 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 8.29 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -7.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 66.68 years
Total Fertility Rate: 2.03 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu
Literacy: 98.8%
The Human Development Index for Guyana is 0.725, which gives Guyana a rank of 103rd out of 177 countries with data. See Guyana's Human Development Index for 2004
Water
Guyana is an Amerindian word reputed to mean "Land of the Water". Numerous rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean, generally in a northward direction. The Essequibo, the country's major river, runs from the Brazilian border in the south to a wide delta west of Georgetown. The rivers of eastern Guyana cut across the coastal zone, making east-west travel difficult, but they also provide limited water access to the interior. Waterfalls generally limit water transport to the lower reaches of each river. Estimates of surface water resources are not available over all of Guyana: there are data available from the main drainage basins.
Economy
The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Economic recovery since the 2005 flood-related contraction has been buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization, and the state-owned sugar industry will conduct efficiency increasing modernizations. Export earnings from agriculture and mining have remained flat as rising commodity prices have offset declining production, while the import bill has risen, driven by higher energy costs. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $3.01 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3.2% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $3,900 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 31.9%
industry: 21%
services: 47.2% (2008 est.)
Industries: Bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
Natural Resources: Bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish.
Currency: Guyanese dollars (GYD)
Further Reading
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