*Guyana, Economy
Overview:
Guyana is one of the world's poorest countries with a per capita income less
than one-fifth the South American average. After growing on average at less
than 1% a year in 1986-87, GDP dropped by 5% a year in 1988-90. The decline
resulted from bad weather, labor trouble in the cane fields, and flooding
and equipment problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about
100% in 1989 and 75% in 1990, and the current account deficit widened
substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power
has been in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in
national output. The government, in association with international financial
agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The
government's stabilization program - aimed at establishing realistic
exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and a resumption of growth -
requires considerable public administrative abilities and continued patience
by consumers during a long incubation period. Buoyed by a recovery in mining
and agriculture, the economy posted 6% growth in 1991 and 7% growth in 1992,
according to official figures. A large volume of illegal and quasi-legal
economic activity is not captured in estimates of the country's total
output.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $267.5 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
7% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
$370 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
12%-15% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $121 million; expenditures $225 million, including capital
expenditures of $50 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$268 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
sugar, bauxite/alumina, rice, gold, shrimp, molasses, timber, rum
partners:
UK 28%, US 25%, FRG 8%, Canada 7%, Japan 6% (1989)
Imports:
$242.4 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
manufactures, machinery, food, petroleum
partners:
US 40%, Trinidad & Tobago 13%, UK 11%, Japan 5%, Netherland Antilles 3%
(1989)
External debt:
$2 billion including arrears (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 12% (1990 est.); accounts for about 24% of GDP
Electricity:
253,500 kW capacity; 276 million kWh produced, 370 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles,
gold mining
Agriculture:
most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and about half of exports;
sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for fishing and
forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable oils, and
animal products
*Guyana, Economy
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $325 million;
Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
Currency:
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1 - 125.8 (January 1993) 125.0 (1992), 111.8
(1991), 39.533 (1990), 27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Guyana, Communications
Railroads:
187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge
Highways:
7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth, 590 km
unimproved
Inland waterways:
6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo
Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km,
respectively
Ports:
Georgetown, New Amsterdam
Merchant marine:
1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,317 GRT/2,558 DWT
Airports: total:
53
usable:
48
with permanent-surface runways:
5
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
13
Telecommunications:
fair system with radio relay network; over 27,000 telephones; tropospheric
scatter link to Trinidad; broadcast stations - 4 AM, 3 FM, no TV, 1
shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Guyana, Defense Forces
Branches:
Guyana Defense Force (GDF; including the Ground Forces, Coast Guard and Air
Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 196,960; fit for military service 149,583 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
*Haiti, Geography
Location:
in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 90 km southeast of Cuba
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
27,750 km2
land area:
27,560 km2
comparative area:
slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total 275 km, Dominican Republic 275 km
Coastline:
1,771 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes:
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate:
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain:
mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources:
bauxite
Land use:
arable land:
20%
permanent crops:
13%
meadows and pastures:
18%
forest and woodland:
4%
other:
45%
Irrigated land:
750 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from
June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation; soil
erosion
Note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)