Guyana << gy AN uh >> is a country on the northeast coast of South America. It borders on Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela. Guyana has valuable mineral resources, dense forests, and wild mountain country. Much of the land is difficult to reach, and some areas have never been explored. Guyana is an Indigenous (native) word meaning Land of Waters. The country’s official name is the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. People from several national and ethnic groups live in Guyana. East Indians and people of African descent form the largest groups.
Guyana was one of the first areas in the Western Hemisphere to be settled by Europeans. Christopher Columbus sailed along its coast in 1498. The English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh searched there in 1595 for El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. It became the independent nation of Guyana in 1966. Georgetown is the capital and largest city.
Government.
Guyana is a republic with a president and an elected unicameral (one-house) legislature called the National Assembly or parliament. The president, who is usually the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly, serves as head of state. The National Assembly makes the country’s laws. However, the president has the power to veto the laws. The president appoints a cabinet and a prime minister, who leads the government. Guyana’s highest court is the Supreme Court of Judicature. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court.
People.
About half of Guyana’s people are East Indians whose ancestors were brought from India to work on plantations. Most live in rural areas. Some work on sugar plantations. Others live on small farms where they grow rice and vegetables. Gradually, the East Indians have been moving to cities and towns where many of them work as merchants, doctors, and lawyers.
About 30 percent of the population of Guyana are Black people whose ancestors were brought from Africa and enslaved. Most of them live in cities and towns. They work as teachers, police officers, government employees, and other professionals, and as skilled workers in the sugar grinding mills and bauxite mines. The rest of the people are of Chinese, European, or Indigenous descent. Some of the Indigenous people make their living by hunting. Others farm or cut and sell timber. Some Indigenous people live in remote forest areas in much the same way as their ancestors lived. Most Chinese and Europeans are business people.
English is Guyana’s official language and is spoken by most of the people. Many of the people speak a regional form of English called Creole, which is a mixture of Dutch, English, Spanish, and some African languages. Guyana’s East Indians speak Hindi and Urdu.
Most of Guyana’s adults can read and write. Guyanese children between the ages of 6 and 14 must attend school. Most education is free for children between the ages of 5 and 16. The government operates most of the schools. The University of Guyana, located in Georgetown, is the only university in Guyana.
Land.
Guyana is divided into three main regions: the coastal plain, inland forest, and highland.
The coastal plain, a strip of land along the Atlantic Ocean, is from 2 to 30 miles (3.2 to 48 kilometers) wide. Most of it lies about 4 feet (1.2 meters) below sea level at high tide. Sea walls, dikes, and drainage canals keep out the sea and protect the people and their crops from floods. About 95 percent of the people live on the plain. Farms cover much of it, and the main crops—sugar cane and rice—are grown and processed there.
The inland forest covers a plateau south of the coastal plain. The inland forest region covers about 85 percent of Guyana and has about a thousand types of timber.
The highland consists of mountains and savannas (grasslands with scattered trees). The mountainous parts of the highland are in the south and southwest. These areas are generally isolated from the rest of the country and are difficult to reach. Most of the Indigenous people live there. The main savanna area covers about 6,000 square miles (16,000 square kilometers) in the southwest. A smaller savanna lies in the northeast. Farmers run some small farms and raise cattle in the savannas.
The coastal plain has a hot, humid climate that averages 80 °F (27 °C) and about 90 inches (230 centimeters) of rain a year. More rain falls in the forest area, and temperatures are higher in the forest and highland.
The four main rivers, the Essequibo, the Demerara, the Berbice, and the Courantyne, flow north into the Atlantic. Guyana has several spectacular waterfalls. Great Fall drops 1,600 feet (488 meters) on the Kamarang River. The nearby Great Falls drops 840 feet (256 meters) on the Mazaruni River. Kaieteur Fall on the Potaro River drops 741 feet (226 meters).
Economy.
Guyana has rich soil, valuable forests, and large deposits of minerals. Agriculture and mining are the major economic activities of the country.
The coastal plain is Guyana’s leading agricultural area. Rice and sugar cane are Guyana’s most important crops. The country also produces citrus fruits, coconuts, plantains, and tomatoes. Farmers raise beef and dairy cattle and chickens.
In the early 2020’s, Guyana began producing oil. The country also mines diamonds, gold, and bauxite, the ore used in making aluminum. Forests cover about 75 percent of Guyana. The wood of the greenheart tree is used to build wharves all over the world. Much of Guyana’s manufacturing industry is centered on processing the country’s natural resources.
Guyana exports bauxite, crude oil, diamonds, gold, rice, and sugar. The country imports food, machinery, motor vehicles, and petroleum products. Guyana’s leading trade partners include Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Many of the country’s roads are unpaved. Guyana has no passenger railroads. River transportation is important in Guyana. Timehri, near Georgetown, has the country’s main international airport. Georgetown has Guyana’s chief port.
History.
When European explorers came to Guyana in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, they found Indigenous Arawak, Carib, and Warrau people living in the area. The Dutch founded a settlement in what is now Guyana in 1581 and claimed the area. Later, the United Kingdom and France also claimed it. In 1814, the United Kingdom gained control, and in 1831, it formed the colony of British Guiana.
The early Dutch settlers started sugar plantations and enslaved Black Africans to work on them. Slavery was abolished (made illegal) by 1838, and many of the Black people stopped working on the plantations. The planters then brought in laborers from India to work on the plantations.
During the 1940’s, the British increased their efforts to prepare British Guiana for self-government. More people were allowed to vote for members of the legislature.
A new constitution was adopted in 1953, and elections were held in April 1953. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), led by Cheddi B. Jagan, won most of the seats in the legislature. But the British suspended the constitution and removed the Jagan administration from office in October 1953. They said Jagan’s policies threatened to make British Guiana a Communist state. Jagan’s party returned to office by winning the 1957 and 1961 elections.
British Guiana seemed to be nearing independence in 1961. A new constitution gave the colony control of its national affairs, though the United Kingdom still controlled its defense and its relations with other nations. But violence between East Indian and Black people broke out in 1962. After more outbreaks during the next two years, the British said another election would have to be held before British Guiana could become independent. In 1964, the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the United Force, the two parties that made up the opposition to Jagan’s government, won a majority of seats in the legislature and formed a coalition government.
British Guiana became the independent nation of Guyana on May 26, 1966. Forbes Burnham, a Black lawyer and head of the PNC, became Guyana’s first prime minister and most powerful leader.
Guyana’s economy expanded during the late 1960’s, and the government worked for economic cooperation among Caribbean nations. During the 1970’s, the government took control of bauxite mines and other industries owned by foreign companies. The government also took over the major Guyanese industries.
Also during the 1970’s, a number of religious groups called cults moved to Guyana from other countries. They included the People’s Temple, a cult from the United States led by Jim Jones, a Protestant clergyman. The People’s Temple established a settlement in northern Guyana that became known as Jonestown. In 1978, Jones ordered the members of his cult to commit suicide. Over 900 members, including Jones, then died. Most took poison. Some were murdered by other members. Following the tragedy, the government took steps to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Burnham served as Guyana’s prime minister until 1980. That year, the government changed the constitution to create the more powerful office of president. Burnham served as president from 1980 until his death in 1985. In 1988, the government, under President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, introduced economic reforms. Since then, many state-owned companies have been sold to private owners.
The East Indian-dominated PPP won National Assembly elections in 1992, 1997, 2001, 2006, and 2011. During this period of PPP control, Guyana’s presidents included Cheddi Jagan (1992-1997); Samuel Hinds (1997); Janet Jagan, Cheddi Jagan’s widow (1997-1999); Bharrat Jagdeo (1999-2011); and Donald Ramotar (2011-2015). In the 2015 National Assembly election, a coalition of two Afro-Guyanese opposition parties, A Partnership for National Unity and The Alliance for Change, defeated the PPP. David Granger then became president.
In the 2010’s, huge oil deposits estimated to contain several billion barrels of oil were discovered off Guyana’s shore. Oil production began in 2019. A National Assembly election was held in March 2020. However, claims of fraud and a vote recount delayed the official result. In August, the Guyana Elections Commission declared Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the winning People’s Progressive Party president, and he was sworn in.
