Guyana (2001) | Syria (2004) | |
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 | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus |
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: 38% (male 3,524,406; female 3,319,323)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 5,421,133; female 5,163,669) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 281,795; female 306,548) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest and fishery potential not exploited | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 93 (2003 est.) |
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: 26
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
total: 66
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
214,970 sq km land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Idaho | slightly larger than North Dakota |
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. | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
Birth rate | 17.92 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$220.1 million expenditures: $286.4 million, including capital expenditures of $86.6 million (1998) |
revenues: $6.106 billion
expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Georgetown | Damascus |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
Coastline | 459 km | 193 km |
Constitution | 6 October 1980 | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Co-operative Republic of Guyana conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
Currency | Guyanese dollar (GYD) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Death rate | 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.1 billion (2000) | $21.55 billion (2003 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret SCOBEY
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
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) | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; settled border dispute with Jordan in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
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. | Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
Electricity - consumption | 423.2 million kWh (1999) | 21.63 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) | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
98.9% hydro: 1.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | East Indian 49%, black 32%, mixed 12%, Amerindian 6%, white and Chinese 1% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
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) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999) |
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 Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
Exports | $570 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
Exports - partners | US 22%, Canada 22%, UK 18%, Netherlands Antilles 11%, Jamaica (1999) | Germany 20.9%, Italy 12.6%, UAE 7.6%, Lebanon 6.2%, Turkey 6%, France 5.4%, Croatia 4.8%, US 4.1% (2003) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
34.7% industry: 32.5% services: 32.8% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 0.9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 5 00 N, 59 00 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | - | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
Heliports | - | 7 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1996) |
total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
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 | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering |
Imports | $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
Imports - partners | US 29%, Trinidad and Tobago 18%, Netherlands Antilles 16%, UK 7%, Japan (1999) | Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003) |
Independence | 26 May 1966 (from UK) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.1% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | 38.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 30.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2003 est.) |
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 | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,300 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 245,492 (1992) | 4.97 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture, industry, services NA |
Land boundaries | total:
2,462 km border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 84% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
Languages | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.31 years male: 60.52 years female: 66.24 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.71 years
male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 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: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | South America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 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.) |
total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk 12, cargo 101, container 2, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Lebanon 10, Romania 1 registered in other countries: 83 (2004 est.) |
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 | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7 million (FY94) | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (FY94) | 5.9% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
204,938 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,876,040 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
154,259 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 216,077 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun:
Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) |
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] | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
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 |
conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [lader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM] |
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.) |
18,016,874
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 20% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
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 |
total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian 50%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 8% | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 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: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
Telephones - main lines in use | 70,000 (2000) | 2,099,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,100 (2000) | 400,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.1 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12% (1992 est.) | 20% (2002 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 |
900 km (not economically significant) (2002) |