Sudan (2001) | Guyana (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab | 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:
44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783) 15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469) 65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 103,054/female 99,279)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 263,953/female 260,000) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,801/female 22,196) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | sugarcane, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 61 (2000 est.) | 49 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 41
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly smaller than Idaho |
Background | Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war- and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others. | 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 | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $287.6 million
expenditures: $371.6 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Khartoum | Georgetown |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) |
Coastline | 853 km | 459 km |
Constitution | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR | 6 October 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | - |
Death rate | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make periodic visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX - [254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20] (2) 3573200 | 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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
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 | administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 | 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 | $187 million (1997) | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80% of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly processing of agricultural goods. Most of the 1990s were characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized inflation at 10% or less. Sudan continues to have limited international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9 billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses. Current oil production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in 2001. | 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 and came back gradually in 2004, buoyed largely by increased export earnings. 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 from restructuring and partial privatization. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) | 751.4 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) | 808 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7% |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996) | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 198.33 (2004), 193.88 (2003), 190.67 (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
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 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 | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) | Canada 23.2%, US 19.2%, UK 10.9%, Portugal 9%, Belgium 6.4%, Jamaica 5.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | 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 - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 38.3%
industry: 19.9% services: 41.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 5 00 N, 59 00 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
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 | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) | Trinidad and Tobago 24.8%, US 24.5%, Cuba 6.8%, UK 5.4% (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 26 May 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1996 est.) | 7.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, CSN, 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 | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 418,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 97.41% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)
elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA; few parties participated in the 2000 elections note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI |
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 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:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 65.5 years
male: 62.86 years female: 68.28 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation 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 | total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT
by type: cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps, Guyana People's Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $550 million (FY98) | $6.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.9% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
8,436,732 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,194,862 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
398,294 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) |
Nationality | noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese |
Natural hazards | dust storms | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish |
Net migration rate | 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -7.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 815 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties | 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 [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 | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF); Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG] | 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 | 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.) | 765,283
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2001 est.) | 0.26% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | Georgetown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 7.55 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5,311 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic |
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 | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 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: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
general assessment: fair system for long-distance service
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 | 400,000 (2000) | 80,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 87,300 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south |
Total fertility rate | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (1996 est.) | 9.1% (understated) (2000) |
Waterways | 5,310 km | 1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004) |