Guyana Encyclopedia – Facts for Students

4to40.com April 25, 2023 World Atlas 471 Views

Country Name: Guyana
System of government: Republic
Capital: Georgetown
Location: In north-eastern South America on the Atlantic, bordered by Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela
Area: 214,969 sq km
Population: 887,000
National composition: Indians (54%), blacks, Amerindians, people of mixed stock
Religions: Hindus, Islamic, Protestant, Catholic
Official Language: English
Currency: Guyana dollar = 100 cents
Administrative division: 3 counties
Highest elevation: Roraima (2,852 m)
Chief river: Essequibo
Climate: Equatorial wet, unhealthy

Motto: “One people, one nation, one destiny”
Anthem: “Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains”

Guyana Location Map:

Guyana Encyclopedia & Facts for Students

Guyana’s chief crops are sugarcane and rice, but fruit, coffee beans, bananas, coconuts and cotton are also grown.The economy is based on mining because the country has vast beds of bauxite as well as diamonds, gold, manganese and other minerals. Industry is of the light type: there are sugar-mills producing Demerara sugar, distilleries and some woodworking. About 80 per cent of the land is tropical rain forest.

Guyana, officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is the only English-speaking country in South America. It is also one of four non-Spanish-speaking countries on the continent, along with the Brazil (Portuguese) and Suriname (Dutch) and the French overseas region of French Guiana (French). Culturally it is more associated with the Caribbean than with Latin America.

Guyana is the third smallest country on the mainland of South America. After decades of socialist policies that resulted in a deteriorating economy, a turnaround was made by a reform program begun in 1989 that significantly reduced the government’s role in the economy, encouraged foreign investment, enabled the government to clear all its arrears on loan repayments to foreign governments and the multilateral banks, and brought about the sale of 15 of the 41 government-owned (parastatal) businesses.

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning “Land of many waters.” The country is characterized by its vast rainforests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks, and waterfalls, notably Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River, which at 741 feet is the world’s highest single-drop waterfall. The country enjoys great diversity of both cultures and flora and fauna.