Guyana
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Georgetown
- Population
- 794,099 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 214,969 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Languages
- English (official), Guyanese Creole, Amerindian languages (including Caribbean and Arawak languages), Indian languages (including Caribbean Hindustani, a dialect of Hindi), Chinese (2014 est.)
- Religions
- Protestant 34.8% (Pentecostal 22.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 5.4%, Anglican 5.2%, Methodist 1.4%), Hindu 24.8%, other Christian 20.8%, Roman Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 6.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, Rastafarian 0.5%, other 0.9%, none 3.1% (2012 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- East Indian 39.8%, African descent 29.3%, mixed 19.9%, Indigenous 10.5%, other 0.5% (includes Portuguese, Chinese, White) (2012 est.)
- Currency
- Guyanese dollars (GYD)
- Life Expectancy
- 72.4 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .gy
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)
- Terrain
- mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
- Natural Resources
- bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
- Major Exports
- crude petroleum, railway cargo containers, gold, ships, rice (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to former slaves settling urban areas and indentured servants being imported from India to work the sugar plantations.