1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
214,970 km2; 1% cropland, 3% pasture, 8% savanna, 66% forested, 22% water, urban, and waste
Coastline
459 km
Land boundaries
2,575 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; economic zone 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
51% East Indians, 43% Negro and Negro mixed, 4% Amerindian, 2% white and Chinese
Labor force
242,000 (1975); 29% agriculture, 31% manufacturing/mining, 40% services; 21% unemployed
Language
English
Literacy
86%
Nationality
noun—Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective—Guyanese
Organized labor
34% of labor force
Population
870,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.5%
Religion
57% Christian, 33% Hindu, 9% Muslim, 1% other
Government
Branches
Council of Ministers presided over by Prime Minister; 65-member unicameral legislative National Assembly (elected), including 12 seats elected by local councils; Supreme Court Government leader: Executive President L. F. S. BURNHAM
Capital
Georgetown
Communists
est. 100 hardcore within PPP; top echelons of PPP and PYO (Progressive Youth Organization, militant wing of the PPP) include many Communists, but rank and file is conservative and non-Communist; small but unknown number of orthodox Marxist-Leninists within PNC, some of whom are PPP turncoats
Elections
last held in December 1980, following promulgation of new constitution (on 6 October) replacing British-drafted constitution Political parties and leaders: People's National Congress (PNC), L. F. S. Burnham; People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi Jagan; Working People's Alliance (WPA), Rupert Roopnarine, Olive Thomas, Walter Omawale, Eusi Kwayana; United Force (UF), Feilden Singh Voting strength (1980 election, unofficial returns): 77.60% PNC, 19.46% PPP, 2.88% UF
Legal system
based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
CARICOM, CDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
National holiday
23 February
Official name
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Other political or pressure groups
Trades Union Congress (TUC); Working People's Vanguard Party (WPVP); Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Political subdivisions
10 government districts
Suffrage
universal over age 18 as of constitutional amendment August 1973
Type
republic within Commonwealth
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—sugarcane, rice, other food crops; food shortages—wheat flour, cooking oil, processed meat, dairy products
Budget
revenue $183 million, expenditure $373 million (1980)
Electric power
200,000 kW capacity (1981); 520 million kWh produced (1981), 530 kWh per capita
Exports
$389 million (f.o.b., 1980); bauxite, sugar, rice, alumina, shrimp, molasses, timber, rum
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$555 million (1980), $700 per capita; real growth 1981, -6% proj.
Imports
$425 million (c.i.f., 1980); manufactures, machinery, food, petroleum
Major industries
bauxite mining, alumina production, sugar and rice milling, timber
Major trade partners
exports—28% UK, 21% US, 14% CARICOM, 6% Canada; imports—22% US, 23% UK, 35% CARICOM, 4% Canada (1980)
Monetary conversion rate
managed according to basket of currencies; G$3=US$1 (June 1981)
Communications
Airfields
88 total, 88 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 13 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Highways
7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth, and 590 km unimproved
Inland waterways
5,900 km; Demerara River navigable to Mackenzie by ocean steamers, others by ferryboats, small craft only
Ports
1 major (Georgetown), 3 minor Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft, including 2 leased in
Railroads
110 km total, all single track; 80 km 0.914-meter gauge, 30 km 1.067-meter gage
Telecommunications
highly developed telecom system with radio-relay network and over 27,000 telephones (3.3 per 100 popl.); tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; 6 AM, 2 FM and no TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $22.7 million; 9.0% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 215,000; 172,000 fit for military service