Guyana (2001) | Reunion (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.19% (male 100,194; female 96,309) 15-64 years: 66.89% (male 234,976; female 231,360) 65 years and over: 4.92% (male 15,324; female 19,018) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest and fishery potential not exploited | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
214,970 sq km land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Idaho | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966 and became a republic in 1970. In 1989 Guyana launched an Economic Recovery Program, which marked a dramatic reversal from a state-controlled, socialist economy towards a more open, free market system. Results through the first decade have proven encouraging. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 17.92 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$220.1 million expenditures: $286.4 million, including capital expenditures of $86.6 million (1998) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Georgetown | Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 459 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 6 October 1980 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Co-operative Republic of Guyana conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Guyanese dollar (GYD) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.1 billion (2000) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ronald D. GODARD embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969 FAX: [592] (2) 58497 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari [Koetari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | Severe drought and political turmoil contributed to Guyana's negative growth of -1.8% for 1998 following six straight years of growth of 5% or better. Growth came back to a positive 1.8% in 1999 and 3% in 2000. Underlying growth factors have included expansion in the key agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative, a more realistic exchange rate, a moderate inflation rate, and continued support by international organizations. President JAGDEO, the former finance minister, is taking steps to reform the economy, including drafting an investment code and restructuring the inefficient and unresponsive public sector. Problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government must persist in efforts to manage its sizable external debt and attract new investment. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 423.2 million kWh (1999) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 455 million kWh (1999) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
98.9% hydro: 1.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | East Indian 49%, black 32%, mixed 12%, Amerindian 6%, white and Chinese 1% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 184.1 (November 2000), 182.2 (2000), 178.0 (1999), 150.5 (1998), 142.4 (1997), 140.4 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President JAGAN head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $570 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | US 22%, Canada 22%, UK 18%, Netherlands Antilles 11%, Jamaica (1999) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
34.7% industry: 32.5% services: 32.8% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 5 00 N, 59 00 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | - | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total:
7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1996) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 29%, Trinidad and Tobago 18%, Netherlands Antilles 16%, UK 7%, Japan (1999) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 26 May 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.1% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 38.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,300 sq km (1993 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 245,492 (1992) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,462 km border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 84% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (65 seats, 53 elected by popular vote, 10 elected by the ten Regional Democratic Councils, and 2 elected by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.31 years male: 60.52 years female: 66.24 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98.1% male: 98.6% female: 97.5% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | South America | World |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,929 GRT/4,507 DWT ships by type: cargo 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS), Guyana Police Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7 million (FY94) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (FY94) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
204,938 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
154,259 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [leader NA]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Hugh Desmond HOYTE]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Janet JAGEN]; Rise, Organize and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPARNINE] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Rise, Organize and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized |
NA |
Population | 697,181
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2001 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 420,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
187 km (all dedicated to ore transport) standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 50%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 8% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system for long-distance calling domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 70,000 (2000) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,100 (2000) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.1 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12% (1992 est.) | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 5,900 km (total length of navigable waterways)
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively |
none |