Guyana (2003) | Sierra Leone (2008) | |
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 | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27% (male 96,775; female 93,077)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 240,305; female 236,378) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 15,755; female 19,810) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp) | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 51 (2002) | 10 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Idaho | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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, but until the early 1990s it was 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. Upon his death five years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001. | Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption. |
Birth rate | 17.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $227 million
expenditures: $235.2 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2000) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Georgetown | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 459 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 6 October 1980 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Guyanese dollar (GYD) | - |
Death rate | 9.27 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2002) | $1.61 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] 225-4900 through 4909 FAX: [592] 225-8497 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
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); territorial sea boundary with Suriname is in dispute | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) | $343.4 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | The Guyanese economy has exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-02, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. 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. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term by restructuring and partial privatization. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 792.4 million kWh (2001) | 227.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 852 million kWh (2001) | 245 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.4%
hydro: 0.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7% | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000), 178 (1999), 150.52 (1998) | leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003) |
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 by March 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 431.1 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | Canada 21.1%, US 17.9%, Netherlands Antilles 12.9%, UK 10.4%, Jamaica 5.3%, Portugal 4.2% (2002) | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) |
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 light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.628 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 35%
industry: 21% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2002 est.) | 6.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 5 00 N, 59 00 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | 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 | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | 8,864 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 23.7%, Netherlands Antilles 20.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 15.2%, Italy 6.3%, UK 5.1%, Cuba 4.2% (2002) | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 26 May 1966 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.1% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 37.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 418,000 (2001 est.) | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 97.48% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
Languages | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (68 seats, 65 elected by popular vote, 1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2 nonvoting members appointed by the president; 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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.09 years
male: 60.51 years female: 65.79 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | South America | Africa |
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: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,929 GRT/4,507 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
Military branches | Guyana Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia, Guyana National Service | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.3% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 207,890 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 156,174 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -4.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC/R [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO]; Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE] | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized |
trade unions and student unions |
Population | 702,100
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 2003 est.) |
6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70.2% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 0.44% (2003 est.) | 2.292% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | total: 187 km
standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.) |
- |
Religions | Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5% | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: marginal telephone service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 70,000 (2000) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,100 (2000) | 113,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (understated) (2000) | NA% |
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 |
800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |