Saint Helena (2001) | Guyana (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
19.08% (male 699; female 687) 15-64 years: 71.72% (male 2,711; female 2,500) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 286; female 383) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.5% (male 95,431; female 91,806)
15-64 years: 68.3% (male 243,224; female 239,047) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,000; female 20,295) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp) |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 49 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 41
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
410 sq km land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes St. Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Idaho |
Background | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, St. Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. | 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. |
Birth rate | 13.49 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.2 million expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
revenues: $263.4 million
expenditures: $326.7 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2003) |
Capital | Jamestown | Georgetown |
Climate | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) |
Coastline | 60 km | 459 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | 6 October 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Helena |
conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
Currency | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) | Guyanese dollar (GYD) |
Death rate | 6.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.71 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.2 billion (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Roland BULLEN
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Bayney KARRAN
chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks UNCLOS arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters |
Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | The Guyanese economy 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. Growth then slowed in 2003. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.6 million kWh (1999) | 792.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6 million kWh (1999) | 852 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 |
Ethnic groups | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7% |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6047 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 190.665 (2002), 187.321 (2001), 182.43 (2000), 177.995 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since NA June 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet 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 |
Exports | $704,000 (f.o.b., 1995) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber |
Exports - partners | South Africa, UK | Canada 23.2%, US 21.8%, UK 13.5%, Portugal 6.7%, Belgium 6.5%, Jamaica 6.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.797 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 37.2%
industry: 22.7% services: 40.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 0.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 56 S, 5 42 W | 5 00 N, 59 00 W |
Geography - note | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns | 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 |
Highways | total:
158 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) paved: 138 km (Saint Helena 98km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) unpaved: NA km 20 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) |
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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis |
Imports | $14.434 million (c.i.f., 1995) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | UK, South Africa | US 22.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.2%, Italy 11.2%, UK 7.2%, Cuba 5.2% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 26 May 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 22.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 37.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 32.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 5.7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ICFTU | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court |
Labor force | 3,500 (1998 est.)
note: 1,200 of whom are working offshore |
418,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 6% other: 82% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 97.41% (2001) |
Languages | English | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (15 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 July 1997 (next to be held NA August 2001) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.01 years male: 74.13 years female: 80.04 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.43 years
male: 60.12 years female: 64.84 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about mid-way between South America and Africa | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT
by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: Barbados 1, Panama 1 registered in other countries: 8 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps; Guyana People's Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.8% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 209,545 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 157,264 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian |
noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | fish | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 |
Population | 7,266 (July 2001 est.) | 705,803
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2001 est.) | 0.61% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 3,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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 | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
can communicate with any place in the world domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK ; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: fair system for long-distance calling
domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 80,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1997) | 87,300 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) |
Terrain | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.06 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | 9.1% (understated) (2000) |
Waterways | none | 1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004) |