In 1891 a paramilitary police force was established in British
Guiana. This force became the British Guiana Police Force in June
1939 and after independence the Guyana Police Force. Headed by a
commissioner of police, the force had limited paramilitary
capabilities. The 5,000-member force had three major elements: a
Mounted Branch trained in riot control, a Rural Constabulary, and
a Special Constabulary that served as the police reserve.
Additionally, a number of constables were employed by the
government and private businesses to guard property.
During the 1970s and 1980s, a religious group known as the
House of Israel became an informal part of the PNC's security
apparatus and engaged in actions such as strikebreaking,
progovernment demonstrations, political intimidation, and murder
(see Cults
, ch. 2). The House of Israel was led by an ardent PNC
supporter, David Hill, locally known as Rabbi Washington. Hill was
an American fugitive wanted for blackmail, larceny, and tax
evasion. Despite its name, the House of Israel was neither Israeli
nor Jewish-oriented. It was, instead, a black supremacist cult
claiming that Afro-Guyanese were the original Hebrews. Cult
adherents further believed that modern-day Jews were, in fact,
descendants of other non-Jewish biblical peoples and were in Israel
illegally. Serving as a paramilitary force for the PNC, the House
of Israel had 8,000 members, including a 300-member guard force
known as the "royal cadets."
A 1979 incident illustrates the House of Israel's close
relationship with the Burnham administration. A member of the cult,
Bilal Ato, murdered a reporter working for an opposition newspaper
on July 14, 1979. The reporter had been taking photographs of an
antigovernment demonstration when he was stabbed to death. Although
the entire incident was filmed by other journalists, the government
took three years to bring the case to trial. A former state
prosecutor defended Ato. The judge reduced Ato's charge to
manslaughter and sentenced him to eight years in prison.
Later in 1979, as well as during the early and mid-1980s, the
government used the House of Israel to break strikes and to disrupt
public meetings of any group that the government felt might oppose
its policies. Observers claimed that House of Israel members were
accompanied by police and sometimes wore police uniforms during
these incidents. In 1985 House of Israel members allegedly
prevented delegates from entering the annual general meeting of the
Guyana Council of Churches in Georgetown.
When President Hugh Desmond Hoyte took power in 1985, the House
of Israel fell out of government favor. In July 1986, Rabbi
Washington and other key House of Israel leaders were arrested and
charged with murder. Washington pleaded guilty to manslaughter and
received a fifteen-year sentence.
From 1980 until mid-1985, organized gangs of Afro-Guyanese
terrorized Indo-Guyanese communities. The groups' trademark method
of entry earned them the sobriquet kick-down-the-door gangs. The
gangs were fully armed and used military tactics and techniques.
Gang crimes against the Indo-Guyanese included robbery and
occasionally rape or murder.
Police response to the gangs caused a civic outcry. The police
routinely arrived at victims' homes hours after a crime had
occurred, even if notified when the crime was in progress. The
half-hearted police response encouraged the growth of the gangs,
which became so bold that they began to undertake daylight
operations. Fear so paralyzed Indo-Guyanese communities that women
in rural areas congregated most of the day by public roads, seeking
safety in numbers.
Many analysts believed that the PNC sponsored, or at least
tolerated, the kick-down-the-door gangs. Despite stringent gun
control laws, gang members carried automatic weapons. One observer
called the gangs "policemen by day and bandits by night." The gangs
used tactics the PNC had employed against opposition parties, only
on a larger scale and with even greater brutality. After Burnham's
death in 1985, the gangs disappeared.
|
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, and since then it has been 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. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006.
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Location | | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
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Area(sq km) | | total: 214,969 sq km
land: 196,849 sq km
water: 18,120 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 5 00 N, 59 00 W
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 2,949 km
border countries: Brazil 1,606 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
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Coastline(km) | | 459 km
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Climate | | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m
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Natural resources | | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 2.23%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 97.63% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,500 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 241 cu km (2000)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.64 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%)
per capita: 2,187 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
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Environment - current issues | | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation
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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
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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
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Population | | 772,298
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 25.7% (male 101,319/female 97,505)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 268,058/female 262,595)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 17,938/female 24,883) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 28.7 years
male: 28.2 years
female: 29.2 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 0.181% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 17.56 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 8.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -7.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 28% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | 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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 29.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 26.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 66.68 years
male: 64.09 years
female: 69.4 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.03 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese
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Ethnic groups(%) | | East Indian 43.5%, black (African) 30.2%, mixed 16.7%, Amerindian 9.1%, other 0.5% (2002 census)
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Religions(%) | | Hindu 28.4%, Pentecostal 16.9%, Roman Catholic 8.1%, Anglican 6.9%, Seventh Day Adventist 5%, Methodist 1.7%, Jehovah Witness 1.1%, other Christian 17.7%, Muslim 7.2%, other 4.3%, none 4.3% (2002 census)
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Languages(%) | | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu
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Country name | | conventional long form: Cooperative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana
former: British Guiana
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Government type | | republic
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Capital | | name: Georgetown
geographic coordinates: 6 48 N, 58 10 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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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
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Constitution | | 6-Oct-80
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Legal system | | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN and was reelected in 2001, and again in 2006
head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since October 1992, except for a period as chief of state after the death of President Cheddi JAGAN on 6 March 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature
elections: president elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five years (no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of vote 54.6%
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Assembly (65 seats; members elected by popular vote, also not more than 4 non-elected non-voting ministers and 2 non-elected non-voting parliamentary secretaries appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PPP/C 54.6%, PNC/R 34%, AFC 8.1%, other 3.3%; seats by party - PPP/C 36, PNC/R 22, AFC 5, other 2
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Amerindian People's Association; Guyana Bar Association; Guyana Citizens Initiative; Guyana Human Rights Association; Guyana Public Service Union or GPSU; Private Sector Commission; Trades Union Congress
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International organization participation | | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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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
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Economy - overview | | The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Economic recovery since the 2005 flood-related contraction has been buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization, and the state-owned sugar industry will conduct efficiency increasing modernizations. Export earnings from agriculture and mining have remained flat as rising commodity prices have offset declining production, while the import bill has risen, driven by higher energy costs. 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. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $2.973 billion (2008 est.)
$2.887 billion (2007 est.)
$2.739 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $1.154 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 3% (2008 est.)
5.4% (2007 est.)
5.1% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $3,900 (2008 est.)
$3,800 (2007 est.)
$3,600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 24.9%
industry: 24.9%
services: 50.2% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 333,900 (2007 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 11% (2007)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | NA%
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1999)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 43.2 (1999)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 35.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $488.7 million
expenditures: $552.6 million (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 8.3% (2008 est.)
12.3% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $344.2 million (31 December 2008)
$315.2 million (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $817.6 million (31 December 2008)
$728.8 million (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $829.4 million (31 December 2008)
$739.3 million (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$262.4 million (31 December 2007)
$187.4 million (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $136.8 million (2005)
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Agriculture - products | | sugarcane, rice, shrimp, fish, edible oils; beef, pork, poultry
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Industries | | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 2.4% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | -$362 million (2008 est.)
-$165.7 million (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $797 million (2008 est.)
$674.9 million (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | sugar, gold, bauxite, alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber
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Exports - partners(%) | | Canada 20.8%, US 15.2%, UK 12.3%, Netherlands 7.2%, Portugal 4.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.7%, Jamaica 4.5%, Ukraine 4.3% (2008)
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Imports | | $1.294 billion (2008 est.)
$982.9 million (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
|
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Imports - partners(%) | | US 23.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 22.3%, Finland 7.7%, Cuba 6.1%, China 5.7% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $355.9 million (31 December 2008 est.)
$313 million (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $804.3 million (30 September 2008)
$1.2 billion (2002)
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Exchange rates | | Guyanese dollars (GYD) per US dollar - 203.86 (2008 est.), 201.89 (2007), 200.28 (2006), 200.79 (2005), 198.31 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | Guyanese dollar (GYD)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 125,000 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 281,400 (2005)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: fair system for long-distance service
domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines; fixed-line teledensity is about 15 per 100 persons; many areas still lack fixed-line telephone services; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 37 per 100 persons in 2005
international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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Internet country code | | .gy
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Internet users | | 205,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 99 (2009)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km
unpaved: 7,380 km (2000)
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Ports and terminals | | Georgetown
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Military branches | | Guyana Defense Force: Army (includes Coast Guard, Air Corps) (2008)
|
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 220,797 (2008 est.)
|
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 150,307
females age 16-49: 144,622 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 6,625
female: 6,365 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.8% of GDP (2006)
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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 arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
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Trafficking in persons | | current situation: Guyana is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; most trafficking appears to take place in remote mining camps in the country's interior; some women and girls are trafficked from northern Brazil; reporting from other nations suggests Guyanese women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation to neighboring countries and Guyanese men and boys are subject to labor exploitation in construction and agriculture; trafficking victims from Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela transit Guyana en route to Caribbean destinations
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Guyana is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders; the government has yet to produce an anti-trafficking conviction under the comprehensive Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, which became law in 2005; the government operates no shelters for trafficking victims, but did include limited funding for anti-trafficking NGOs in its 2008 budget; the government did not make any effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts during 2007 (2008)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 821 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 99.4%
hydro: 0.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 667 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 11,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 10,550 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 2.5% (2007 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 13,000 (2007 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.)
|
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8%
male: 99.1%
female: 98.5% (2003 est.)
|
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2005)
|
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 8.3% of GDP (2006)
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