Highways:
3,218 km; 2,698 km bituminous, remainder earth
Inland waterways:
scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce
Ports:
Bissau
Civil air:
2 major transport aircraft
Airports:
34 total, 15 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
poor system of radio relay, open-wire lines, and radiocommunications; 3,000
telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 3 FM, 1 TV
:Guinea-Bissau Defense Forces
Branches:
People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; including Army, Navy, Air Force),
paramilitary force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 228,856; 130,580 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $9.3 million, 5-6% of GDP (1987)
:Guyana Geography
Total area:
214,970 km2
Land area:
196,850 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries:
2,462 km; Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
Coastline:
459 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
all of the area west of the Essequibo River claimed by Venezuela; Suriname
claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all
headwaters of the Courantyne)
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
Natural resources:
bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land use:
arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and
woodland 83%; other 8%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons; water pollution
:Guyana People
Population:
739,431 (July 1992), growth rate - 0.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
21 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-20 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
50 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
61 years male, 68 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Guyanese (singular and plural); adjective - Guyanese
Ethnic divisions:
East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian 4%, European and Chinese 2%
Religions:
Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
Languages:
English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy:
95% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990
est.)
Labor force:
268,000; industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%, services 21.7%;
public-sector employment amounts to 60-80% of the total labor force (1985)
Organized labor:
34% of labor force
:Guyana Government
Long-form name:
Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Type:
republic
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; formerly British Guiana)
Constitution:
6 October 1980
Legal system:
based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Executive branch:
executive president, first vice president, prime minister, first deputy
prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Executive President Hugh Desmond HOYTE (since 6 August 1985); First Vice
President Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Hamilton GREEN (since NA August 1985)
Political parties and leaders:
People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh Desmond HOYTE; People's Progressive
Party (PPP), Cheddi JAGAN; Working People's Alliance (WPA), Eusi KWAYANA,
Rupert ROOPNARINE; Democratic Labor Movement (DLM), Paul TENNASSEE; People's
Democratic Movement (PDM), Llewellyn JOHN; National Democratic Front (NDF),
Joseph BACCHUS; United Force (UF), Manzoor NADIR; United Republican Party
(URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY; National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN;
Guyanese Labor Party (GLP), Nanda GOPAUL
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
Executive President:
last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held 1992); results - Hugh Desmond
HOYTE was elected president since he was leader of the party with the most
votes in the National Assembly elections
National Assembly:
last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held mid-1992); results - PNC 78%,
PPP 16%, UF 4%, WPA 2%; seats - (65 total, 53 elected) PNC 42, PPP 8, UF 2,
WPA 1
Other political or pressure groups:
Trades Union Congress (TUC); Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO);
Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC); the latter two organizations are
small and active but not well organized; Guyanese Action for Reform and
Democracy (GUARD) includes various labor groups, as well as several of the
smaller political parties
:Guyana Government