Expatriate Forums in Guyana

We Invite You To Join Guyanese Reunions

gap1 — Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:30 pm

Author: gap1

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:30 pm

Dear Friend,
We would like to invite you to join www.guyanesereunions.com which is the web's #1 Guyanese interactive site. On this site you can stay up to date on Guyana, get all sorts of information, entertainment or even shop for rare Guyanese Treasures. You also get to interact with Guyanese of all races, all over the world and/or post your own special events on our community Forum for free. We are brand new so your membership means a lot to us.

Registering (Joining) is free and private and the rewards are many so please join us when next on the web. If you have already joined our forum then please ignore this email, thank you for your time and effort and have a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Yours Truly,
Guyanese Reunions

Changing Skylines

Soraya Somarathne — Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:19 am

Author: Soraya Somarathne

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:19 am

Dear All,

Parts of South America are beginning to see changing skylines - in some parts of China this is happening faster than you realise.

Please check out: www.spyshanghai.com

Since living and working in the architectural sector in Shanghai for the past 6 months, I've been keeping a blog covering Shanghai's changing skyline as well as some of the stuff I have been getting up to!

Hopefully you'll find some time to have a bit of a read!

Also, writers are wanted!

Thanks and all the best for 2007!

Soraya

GUYANA COUNTRY PROFILE / GUYANA COUNTRY GUIDE

Guyana Info — Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:07 am

Author: Guyana Info

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:07 am

GUYANA COUNTRY PROFILE

Introduction

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.

Geography

Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 5 00 N, 59 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km
water: 18,120 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Idaho

Land boundaries:
total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

Coastline: 459 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish

Land use:
arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.15%
other: 97.41% (2001)

Irrigated land: 1,500 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons

Environment - current issues:
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

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

People

Population: 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.)

Age structure:
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.)

Median age:
total: 26.91 years
male: 26.44 years
female: 27.4 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.26% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 18.45 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
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.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.5 years
male: 62.86 years
female: 68.28 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 11,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese

Ethnic groups: East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%

Religions: Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%

Languages: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8%
male: 99.1%
female: 98.5% (2003 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana
former: British Guiana

Government type: republic within the Commonwealth

Capital: Georgetown

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

Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

Constitution: 6 October 1980

Legal system:
based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
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%

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 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

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court

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 [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:
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

International organization participation:
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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
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

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

Economy

Economy - overview:
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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.899 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 38.3%
industry: 19.9%
services: 41.8% (2004 est.)

Labour force: 418,000 (2001 est.)

Labour force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate: 9.1% (understated) (2000)

Population below poverty line: NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 34.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $287.6 million
expenditures: $371.6 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp

Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production: 808 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption: 751.4 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption: 11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Current account balance: $-129.4 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $570.2 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber

Exports - partners: Canada 22.8%, US 19%, UK 12.1%, Portugal 8.2%, Jamaica 6.6%, Belgium 6.3% (2004)

Imports: $650.1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food

Imports - partners: US 26.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 21.6%, UK 6.4%, Cuba 5.9%, China 4.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $280.6 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external: $1.2 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient: $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997)

Currency (code): Guyanese dollar (GYD)

Exchange rates:
Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 198.33 (2004), 193.88 (2003), 190.67 (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 80,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 87,300 (2002)

Telephone system:
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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:
3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)

Internet country code: .gy

Internet hosts: 613 (2003)

Internet users: 125,000 (2002)

Transportation

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.)

Highways:
total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km
unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.)

Waterways: 1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004)

Ports and harbours: Georgetown

Merchant marine:
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)

Airports: 49 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
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.)

Military

Military branches:
Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps, Guyana People's Militia

Military manpower - availability:
males age 18-49: 206,098 (2005 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 137,964 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $6.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.9% (2004)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
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

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis

Used Postage Stamp Appeal for Charity

Terri1968 — Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:56 pm

Author: Terri1968

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:56 pm

Dear Friends

I am not an expat but wondered if you could help us at the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the UK. We provide over sixty services for blind and partially sighted children and adults and can only do this with help from people like yourself. For more information on the RNIB please visit our website at www.rnib.org.uk

I am appealing to you to send us any used postage stamps that you would normally dispose of. We are deperate for stamps from anywhere in the world so any amount at anytime would be great. We still need stamps from the UK as well. Please could you also tell your friends and family.

If you can help please can stamps be left on the envelope, but have the back of the envelope removed. This will make it cheaper for stamps to be sent as well as saving us a job. There should be approximately1/2 - 1cm of paper surrounding the stamp, but do not worry if this is not possible. Stamps then should be sent to RNIB Stamp Recycling, PO Box 185, Benfleet, England, SS7 9BH. I can be emailed at Puddenhead@blueyonder.co.uk

I thank you for your time.

Terri Bush
RNIB

Every day one hundred people start to lose their sight.

GUYANA PROFILE : GUYANA Country Profile

Anonymous — Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:03 pm

Author: Anonymous

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:03 pm

GUYANA PROFILE : GUYANA Country Profile

GUYANA

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana is a nation on the northern coast of South America, just above the Equator and a part of the western part of the wider region of Guiana. The country is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela and to the north by the Atlantic Ocean. It is the third smallest country in South America and approximately the size of Great Britain or Idaho.

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning Land of Many Waters, and the country is mostly characterized by vast unspoiled rain forests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and beautiful waterfalls. It is also famous for the location of the legendary El Dorado, the inspiration for The Lost World, for its friendly multicultural society, high biodiversity, prize-winning rum, wooden architecture, and Demerara sugar.

Though physically part of South America, culturally, Guyana is more Caribbean than Latin American—demonstrated by the fact that English is the main language. Other languages include Portuguese, Guyanese Creole English, Spanish, Hindustani, Waiwai, Arawak and Macushi.

History

At the time the first Europeans arrived in the area around 1500, Guyana was inhabited by Arawak and Carib tribes of Amerindians. European settlement began in the early 17th century with the Dutch, who established three separate colonies; Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). The British assumed control in the late 18th century and the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. The three became a single British colony known as British Guiana in 1831.

The abolition of slavery in 1834 led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured laborers from Madeira (Portugal)(beginning in 1834), Germany (first in 1835), Ireland (1836), Scotland (1837), Malta (1839), China and India (beginning in 1838) to work on the sugar plantations. In 1889 Venezuela claimed the land up to the Essequibo. Ten years later an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to British Guiana.

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a Republic in 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. The CIA and United States State Department along with the British government played a strong covert role in influencing who would control Guyana during this time.

Politics

Legislative power rests in the unicameral Guyanese parliament, called the National Assembly, with 53 members chosen on the basis of proportional representation from national lists named by the political parties. An additional 12 members are elected by regional councils at the same time as the National Assembly.

Executive authority is exercised by the president, who appoints and supervises the prime minister and other ministers. The president is not directly elected; each party presenting a slate of candidates for the assembly must designate in advance a leader who will become president if that party receives the largest number of votes. Any dissolution of the assembly and election of a new assembly can lead to a change in the assembly majority and consequently a change in the presidency. An ethnocultural divide between the two main ethnic groups has persisted and has on occasion led to turbulent politics.

The highest judicial body is the Court of Appeal, headed by a chancellor of the judiciary. The second level is the High Court, presided over by a chief justice. The chancellor and the Chief Justice are appointed by the president. The Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) is the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).

Guyana is a full and participating founder-member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the headquarters of which is located in Georgetown. The CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) will, by necessity, bring Caribbean-wide legislation into force and a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Heads of Government
Bharrat Jagdeo 1999 - Present
Janet Jagan 1997 - 1999 Jagan website
Samuel Hinds March 6, 1997 - Dec 19, 1997
Desmond Hoyte 1985 - 1992
Forbes Burnham 1966 - 1985
Cheddi Jagan 1957 - 1964, 1992 - 1997 Jagan website

Heads of State
Sir Richard Edmonds Luyt: 26 May - 16 December 1966
Sir David James Gardiner Rose: 16 December 1966 - 10 November 1969
Sir Edward Victor Luckhoo: 10 November 1969 - 22 February 1970
Arthur Chung 1970 - 1980
*Note: Guyana has adopted the Presidential System form of Government hence the current Head of State (the President) also holds the portfolio of Head of Government and Supreme Executive Authority.

Political Divisions/Regions

Guyana consists of 10 regions:

Barima-Waini (Region 1)
Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7)
Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4)
East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 5)
Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region 3)
Mahaica-Berbice (Region 6)
Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region 2)
Potaro-Siparuni (Region
Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10)
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region 9)

Geography

Guyana can be divided into three regions: a narrow and fertile marshy plain along the Atlantic coast where most of the population lives, then a white sand belt more inland consisting of dense rainforests and containing most of Guyana's mineral deposits, and finally the larger interior highlands consisting mostly of mountains that gradually rise to the Brazilian border. Guyana's main mountains are contained here, including Mount Ayanganna (2042 m) and on Mount Roraima (2,835 m - highest mountain in Guyana) on the Brazil-Guyana-Venezuela tripoint, part of the Pakaraima range. There are also many steep escarpments and waterfalls, including the famous Kaieteur Falls. Between the Rupununi River and the border with Brazil lies the Rupununi savannah, south of which lie the Kanuku Mountains.

There are many rivers in the country, the main four being (west to east) the Essequibo, the Demerara, the Berbice and the Corentyne along the border with Suriname. At the mouth of the Essequibo are several large islands. The 145 km Shell Beach along the north-west coast of Guyana is a major breeding area for turtles and other wildlife.

The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, the second from mid-November to mid-January.

International disputes - 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.

Economy

The main economic activities in Guyana are agriculture (producing rice and Demerara sugar), bauxite mining, gold mining, timber, shrimp and minerals. The sugar industry, which accounts for 28% of all export earnings, is largely run by Guysuco which employs more people than any other industry. Many industries have a large foreign investment. The mineral industry, for example, is heavily invested in by the American company Reynolds Metals and the Canadian Alcan and the Korean/Malaysian Barama Company has a large stake in the logging industry.

The Guyanese economy has exhibited moderate economic growth since 1999, based on an 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. Low prices for key mining and agricultural commodities combined with troubles in the bauxite and sugar industries threaten the government's already tenuous fiscal position and dim prospects for the future.

Major private sector organizations include the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI); see a list of companies in Guyana.

Economic Summary - GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $2.899 billion; per capita $3,800. Real growth rate: 1.9%. Inflation: 4.5%. Unemployment: 9.1% (2000) (understated). Arable land: 2%. Labor force: 418,000 (2001 est.); agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a. Agriculture: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp. Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining. Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish. Exports: $570.2 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber. Imports: $650.1 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food. Major trading partners: Canada, U.S., UK, Portugal, Belgium, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, Cuba (2003)

Communications - Telephones: Main lines in use: 183,400 (2004); Mobile cellular: 250,000 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 14 (one public station; two private stations which relay U.S. satellite services) (2005). Internet hosts : 6 (2005). Internet users: 125,000 (2002).

Transportation - Railways: total: 187 km (all dedicated to ore transport) (2001 est.). Highways: total: 7,970 km; paved: 590 km; unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 1,077 km; note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004) . Ports and harbors: Georgetown. Airports: 49 (2004 est.).

Demographics

Guyana's population of 751,223 (Statistics Bureau, 2002) is diverse: the three largest groups are the Indians or Indo-Guyanese (43.5% in 2002) who have remained predominantly rural, the Africans or Afro-Guyanese (30.2%) who constitute the majority urban population, and those of mixed origin (16.7%). The Amerindians (9.2%) who live in the country's interior, are divided into a number of different groups, the main ones being the Akawaio, Arawak, Carib, Macushi, Makuxi, Pemon and Wapishana. Several smaller groups, including Chinese, Portuguese, "Whites" (Europeans other than Portuguese, including British) and others make up less than 1% of the population. The overwhelming majority of the population - around 90% - live along the coastal strip, where population density is more than 115 persons per km². There is much racial tension between the Indian and African communities, and the two main parties are largely mono-racial. The trend over time is for the Amerindian and mixed-race proportion to grow, mainly at the expense of the Indo-Guyanese proportion, while the black percentage remains roughly stable. In 1980, Guyana had an absolute majority (51.9%) of Indo-Guyanese, but now no group forms a majority.

Religion in Guyana runs mainly along racial lines. Christianity (50%) predominantly Anglicanism, is the main religion practiced by Afro-Guyanese, though some are Black Muslim or other Christian denominations. The Indo-Guyanese community mainly follow Hinduism (35%), though there is a sizable minority who practice Islam (10%). Guyana is the country with the largest percentage of Bahá'ís (7%).

Emigration has been a large and persistent problem in Guyana, with an estimated 500,000 Guyanese living abroad. Since independence, as many as 10,000 Guyanese have left and settled permanently in the United States alone per year and demand to emigrate remains very high. Canada, Britain and English-speaking Caribbean islands are the other main countries people choose to emigrate to. At the same time, the birth rate has fallen sharply, and because of the emigration, can no longer sustain the country's population level. Many in the government worry that the country may become depopulated, but few concrete steps have been taken to stem the outflow. Results from the 2002 census, however, suggest that emigration in the last decade has decreased somewhat compared to the 1980s.

Culture

Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean. It is so similar that Guyana is included and accepted as a Caribbean Nation and is a member of the Caribbean Community Caricom economic bloc. Only its geographical location differentiates it from the rest of the English speaking Caribbean countries. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc. Guyana plays international cricket as a part of the West Indies cricket team, and the Guyana team plays first class cricket against other nations of the Caribbean.

Music & Entertainment in Guyana follows the lead of other Caribbean countries and India. Radio stations play the latest reggae, dancehall, soca and chutney as well as Bollywood influences of bhangra and other hindi music. Local television stations air American, British and Indian broadcasts.

Cultural events in Guyana

Mashramani (Mash)
Phagwah (Holi)
Deepavali (Diwali)
The major religion in Guyana is Christianity, accounting for approx. 48% of the population. Hindus make up approx. 36%, while Muslims account for 12% of the population. The rest of the population is split into a number of other religious groups.

Sports in Guyana The major sports in Guyana are cricket, softball cricket (beach cricket) and football. The minor sports in Guyana are netball, rounders, lawn tennis, basketball, table tennis, boxing, and a few others.

Languages English (official language), Amerindian dialects (see Cariban languages), Creole, Hindi, Urdu.

Ecology and World Heritage Site status

Countries interested in the conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage sites of the world accede to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by UNESCO in 1972. Guyana is no exception, and signed the treaty in 1977. In fact, Guyana was the first Caribbean State Party to sign the treaty. Sometime in the latter half of the mid-1990s Guyana seriously began the process of selecting sites for World Heritage nomination and three sites were considered: Kaieteur National Park, Shell Beach and Historic Georgetown. By 1997, work on Kaieteur National Park was started and in 1998 work on Historic Georgetown was begun. To date, however, Guyana has not made a successful nomination.

In 2000(?) Guyana submitted the Kaieteur National Park, including the Kaieteur Falls, to UNESCO as its first World Heritage Site nomination. The proposed area and surrounds have some of Guyana’s most diversified life zones with one of the highest levels of endemic species found anywhere in South America. The Kaieteur Falls is the most spectacular feature of the park falling a distance of 226 m and exceeding the height of Niagara Falls (USA/Canada) five times. Unfortunately, the nomination of Kaieteur Park as a World Heritage Site was not successful, primarily because the area was seen by the evaluators as being too small, especially when compared with the Central Suriname Nature Reserve that had just been nominated as a World Heritage Site (2000). The dossier was thus returned to Guyana for revision.

Guyana continues in its bid for a World Heritage Site. Work continues, after a period of hiatus, on the nomination dossier for Historic Georgetown – a Tentative List indicating Historic Georgetown as being put forward for nomination was submitted to UNESCO in December 2004. There is now a small committee put together by the Guyana National Commission for UNESCO to complete the nomination dossier and the management plan for the site. Recently, in April 2005, two Dutch experts in Conservation spent two weeks in Georgetown supervising Architecture staff and students of the University of Guyana in a historic building survey of the selected area. This is part of the data collection for the nomination dossier. It is expected that the completed nomination document will be submitted in 2006.

Meanwhile, as a result of the Kaieteur National Park being considered too small, there is a proposal to prepare a nomination for a Cluster Site that will include the Kaieteur National Park, the Iwokrama Rain Forest and the Kanuku Mountains. The Iwokrama Forest, an area rich in biological diversity, has been described by Major General (Rtd) Joseph Singh as “a flagship project for conservation.” The Kanuku Mountains area is in a pristine state, and is home to more than 400 birds and animals. These three sites together, we feel, more than adequately meet the requirements of exceptional natural beauty and biological diversity, as well as the requirements of size and integrity, for a successful nomination.

There is much work to be done for the successful nomination of these sites to the World Heritage List. The State, the private sector and the ordinary Guyanese each have a role to play in this process and in the later protection of the sites. Inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage will open Guyana to more serious tourists thereby assisting in its economic development.

Guyana exhibits two of the WWF's Global 200 ecoregions most crucial to the conservation of global biodiversity, Guianan moist forests and Guyana Highlands moist forests and is home to several endemic species including the tropical hardwood Greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei).

Source : Wikipedia.com