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U.S. Department of State

Background Notes: Guyana, March 1998

Official Name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 214,970 sq. km. (82,980 sq. mi.); about the size of Idaho.
Cities: Capital--Georgetown (pop. 248,500). Other cities--Linden (27,200) and New Amsterdam (17,700).
Terrain: Coastal plain, inland highlands, rain forest, savanna.
Climate: Tropical.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Guyanese (sing. and pl.)
Population: 735,000.
Ethnic groups: East Indian origin 51%, African origin 30%, mixed 14%, Indian 4%.
Religions: Christian 50%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 8%.
Languages: English, Guyanese Creole, Indian dialects.
Education: Years compulsory--ages 5 1/2-14 1/2. Attendance--93%; Literacy--98% of adults who have attended school.
Health: Infant mortality rate--35/1,000. Life expectancy--men 61 yrs., women 68yrs.
Work force (245,000): Industry and commerce--45%, agriculture--33%, services--22%.

Government

Type: Republic within the Commonwealth.
Independence: May 26, 1966; Republic--February 23, 1970.
Constitution: 1980.
Branches: Executive--executive president (chief of state and head of government), prime minister. Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (53 directly, 12 indirectly elected members for five-year term 1992-97). Judicial--Judicial Court of Appeal, High Court.
Subdivisions: 10 regions.
Political parties (voting seats in the National Assembly): People's Progressive Party (PPP/CIVIC) 36; People's National Congress (PNC) 25; Working People's Alliance (WPA) 2; The United Force (TUF) 2.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy (1996)

GDP: $600 million.
Real annual growth rate: 7.9%.
Per capita GDP: $766.
Agriculture: Products--sugar, rice.
Natural resources: Gold, bauxite, diamonds, timber, shrimp, fish.
Industry: Types--gold and bauxite mining, manufacturing, processing.
Trade (1995): Exports--$495.7 million: sugar, bauxite, rice, gold, shrimp, rum, timber, molasses. Major markets--U.S. (21%), U.K., CARICOM countries, Canada. Imports--$536.5 million. Major suppliers--U.S. (26%), U.K., Venezuela, CARICOM, Canada.
Exchange rate: 144 Guyana dollars=U.S. $1.

PEOPLE

Guyana's population is made up of five main ethnic groups--East Indian, African, American Indian, Chinese, and Portuguese. Ninety percent of the inhabitants live on the narrow coastal plain, where population density is more than 115 persons per square kilometer (380 per sq. mi.). The population density for Guyana as a whole is low--less than four persons per square kilometer.

Although the government has provided free education from nursery school to the university level since 1975, it has not allocated sufficient funds to maintain the standards of what had been considered the best educational system in the region. Many school buildings are in poor condition; there is a shortage of text and exercise books; the number of teachers has declined; and fees are being charged at the university level for some courses of study for the first time.

HISTORY

Before the arrival of Europeans, the region was inhabited by both Carib and Arawak tribes, who named it Guiana, which means land of waters. The Dutch settled in Guyana in the late 16th century, but their control ended when the British became the de facto rulers in 1796. In 1815, the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to Great Britain at the Congress of Vienna and, in 1831, were consolidated as British Guiana.

Following the abolition of slavery in 1834, thousands of indentured laborers were brought to Guyana to replace the slaves on the sugar cane plantations, primarily from India but also from Portugal and China. The British stopped the practice in 1917. Many of the Afro-Guyanese former slaves moved to the towns and became the majority urban population, whereas the Indo-Guyanese remained predominantly rural. A scheme in 1862 to bring black workers from the United States was unsuccessful. The small Amerindian population lives in the country's interior.

The people drawn from these diverse origins have coexisted peacefully for the most part. Slave revolts, such as the one in 1763 led by Guyana's national hero, Cuffy, demonstrated the desire for basic rights but also a willingness to compromise. Politically inspired racial disturbances between East Indians and blacks erupted in 1962-64. However, the basically conservative and cooperative nature of Guyanese society contributed to a cooling of racial tensions.

Guyanese politics, nevertheless, occasionally has been turbulent. The first modern political party in Guyana was the People's Progressive Party (PPP), established on January 1, 1950, with Forbes Burnham, a British-educated Afro-Guyanese, as chairman; Cheddi Jagan, a U.S.-educated Indo-Guyanese, as second vice-chairman; and his American-born wife, Mrs. Janet Jagan, as secretary general. The PPP won 18 out of 24 seats in the first popular elections permitted by the colonial government in 1953, and Dr. Jagan became leader of the house and minister of agriculture in the colonial government.

Five months later, on October 9, 1953, the British suspended the constitution and landed troops because, they said, the Jagans and the PPP were planning to make Guyana a communist state. These events led to a split in the PPP, in which Burnham broke away and founded what eventually became the People's National Congress (PNC). Elections were permitted again in 1957 and 1961, and Cheddi Jagan's PPP ticket won on both occasions, with 48% of the vote in 1957 and 43% in 1961. Cheddi Jagan became the first Premier of British Guiana, a position he held for seven years. At a constitutional conference in London in 1963, the U.K. Government agreed to grant independence to the colony, but only after another election in which proportional representation would be introduced for the first time. It was widely believed that this system would reduce the number of seats won by the PPP and prevent it from obtaining a clear majority in parliament. The December 1964 elections gave the PPP 46%, the PNC 41%, and the United Force (TUF), a conservative party, 12%. TUF threw its votes in the legislature to Forbes Burnham, who became prime minister.

Guyana achieved independence in May 1966, and became a republic on February 23, 1970--the anniversary of the Cuffy slave rebellion.

From December 1964 until his death in August 1985, Forbes Burnham ruled Guyana in an increasingly autocratic manner, first as prime minister and later, after the adoption of a new constitution in 1980, as executive president. Elections were viewed in Guyana and abroad as fraudulent. Human rights and civil liberties were suppressed, and two major political assassinations occurred: The Jesuit priest and journalist Bernard Darke in July 1979, and the distinguished historian and Working People's Alliance (WPA) party leader Walter Rodney in June 1980. Agents of President Burnham are widely believed to have been responsible for both deaths.

Following Burnham's death, Prime Minister Hugh Desmond Hoyte acceded to the presidency and was formally elected in the December 1985 national elections. Hoyte gradually reversed Burnham's policies, moving from state socialism and one-party control to a market economy and unrestricted freedom of the press and assembly.

On October 5, 1992, a new National Assembly and Regional Councils were elected in the first Guyanese elections since 1964 to be internationally recognized as free and fair. Cheddi Jagan was elected and sworn in as President on October 9, 1992.

When President Jagan died in March 1997, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds replaced him in accordance with constitutional provisions.

GOVERNMENT

Legislative power rests in a unicameral National Assembly, with 53 members chosen on the basis of proportional representation from national lists named by the political parties. An additional 12 members are elected by regional councils elected at the same time as the National Assembly. The president may dissolve the assembly and call new elections at any time, but no later than five years from its first sitting.

Executive authority is exercised by the president, who appoints and supervises the prime minister and other ministers. The president is not directly elected; each party presenting a slate of candidates for the assembly must designate in advance a leader who will become president if that party receives the largest number of votes. Any dissolution of the assembly and election of a new assembly can lead to a change in the assembly majority and consequently a change in the presidency. Only the prime minister is required to be a member of the assembly; in practice, most other ministers are also members. Those who are not members serve as nonelected members, which permits them to debate but not vote.

The highest judicial body is the Court of Appeal, headed by a chancellor of the judiciary. The second level is the High Court, presided over by a chief justice. The chancellor and the chief justice are appointed by the president.

For administrative purposes, Guyana is divided into 10 regions, each headed by a chairman who presides over a regional democratic council. Local communities are administered by village or city councils.

Principal Government Officials

Executive President--Janet Jagan
Prime Minister--Samuel A. Hinds
Foreign Minister--Clement Rohee
Ambassador to the U.S. and OAS--Mohammed Ali Odeen Ishmael
Permanent Representative to the UN-Rudy Insanally

Guyana maintains an embassy in the United States at 2490 Tracy Place, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-276-6900).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Race and ideology have been the dominant political influences in Guyana. Since the split of the multi-racial PPP in 1955, politics has been based more on ethnicity than on ideology. From 1964 to 1992, the People's National Congress (PNC) dominated Guyana's politics. The PNC draws its support primarily from urban blacks and for many years declared itself a socialist party whose purpose was to make Guyana a nonaligned socialist state, in which the party, as in communist countries, was above all other institutions.

The overwhelming majority of Guyanese of East Indian extraction traditionally have backed the People's Progressive Party, headed by Cheddi Jagan. Rice farmers and sugar workers in the rural areas form the bulk of PPP's support, but Indo-Guyanese who dominate the country's urban business community have also provided important support.

Following independence, and with the help of substantial foreign aid, social benefits were provided to a broader section of the population, specifically in health (e.g., establishment of rural clinics), education, housing, road and bridge building, agriculture, and rural development. However, during Forbes Burnham's last years, the government's attempts to build a socialist society caused a massive emigration of skilled workers, and, along with other economic factors, led to a significant decline in the overall quality of life in Guyana.

After Burnham's death in 1985, President Hoyte took steps to stem the economic decline, including strengthening financial controls over the parastatal corporations, and supporting the private sector. In August 1987, at a PNC Congress, Hoyte announced that the PNC rejected orthodox communism and the one-party state.

As the elections scheduled for 1990 approached, Hoyte, under increasing pressure from inside and outside Guyana, gradually opened the political system. After a visit to Guyana by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1990, Hoyte made changes in the electoral rules and appointed a new chairman of the Elections Commission and endorsed putting together new voters' lists, thus delaying the election. The elections, which finally took place in 1992, were witnessed by 100 international observers, including a group headed by Mr. Carter and another from the commonwealth of nations. Both groups issued reports saying the elections had been free and fair, despite violent attacks on the Elections Commission building on election day and other irregularities.

Cheddi Jagan served as Premier (1957-64) and then minority leader in parliament until his election as President in 1992. One of the Caribbean's most charismatic and famous leaders, Jagan was a founder of the PPP which led Guyana's struggle for independence. Over the years, he moderated his Marxist-Leninist ideology. After his election as president, Jagan demonstrated a commitment to democracy, followed a pro-Western foreign policy, adopted free market policies, and pursued sustainable development for Guyana's environment. Nonetheless, he continued to press for debt relief and a new global human order in which developed countries would increase assistance to less developed nations. Jagan died on March 6, 1997 and was succeeded by Samuel A. Hinds, whom he had appointed Prime Minister. President Hinds then appointed Janet Jagan, widow of the late president, to serve as Prime Minister. Mrs. Jagan is a founding member of the PPP and was very active in party politics. She was Guyana's first female prime minister and vice president, two roles she performed concurrently.

In national elections, December 15, 1997, Janet Jagan was elected president and her PPP party won a 55% majority of seats in Parliament. She was sworn in on December 19. The PNC, which won just under 40% of the vote, disputed the results and made allegations of electoral fraud. Public demonstrations and some violence followed, until a CARICOM team came to Georgetown to broker an accord between the two parties, calling for an international audit of the election results, a redrafting of the constitution, and new elections under the new constitution within three years.

ECONOMY

With a per capita gross domestic product of only $766 in 1996, Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The economy made dramatic progress after President Hoyte's 1989 economic recovery program (ERP). As a result of the ERP, Guyana's GDP increased 6% in 1991 after 15 years of decline. Growth was consistently above 6% until 1995 when it dipped to 5.1%. The government reported that the economy grew at a rate of 7.9% in 1996, and 6.3% in 1997. It is estimated that the 1998 growth rate will fall to 4.3%.

Developed in conjunction with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the ERP 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.

The telephone company and assets in the timber, rice, and fishing industries were also privatized. International corporations were hired to manage the huge state sugar company, GUYSUCO, and the largest state bauxite mine. An American company was allowed to open a new bauxite mine and two Canadian companies were permitted to develop the largest open-pit gold mine in Latin America.

Most price controls were removed, the laws affecting mining and oil exploration were improved, and an investment policy receptive to foreign investment was announced. Tax reforms designed to promote exports and agricultural production in the private sector were enacted.

Agriculture and mining are Guyana's most important economic activities, with sugar, bauxite, rice, and gold accounting for 75%-80% of export earnings. Ocean shrimp accounted for another 15% in 1990, but declining catches reduced shrimp exports in 1994. Other exports include timber, diamonds, garments, and locally assembled stoves and refrigerators. The value of these other exports is increasing.

Since 1986, Guyana has received its entire wheat supply from the United States on concessional terms under a PL 480 Food for Peace program. It is now on a grant basis. The Guyanese currency generated by the sale of the wheat is used for purposes jointly agreed upon by the U.S. and Guyana governments.

Guyana's external debt of $2.1 billion was more than four times its GDP. A Paris Club rescheduling under Naples terms has reduced the debt to $1.5 billion. Guyana hopes to benefit from the newly proposed IMF and World Bank assistance programs but it is unclear when Guyana will qualify. Debt service payment obligations were equal to 40% of its earnings from exports. About half is owed to the multilateral development banks and 20% to its neighbor Trinidad, which until 1986 was its principal supplier of petroleum products. Almost all debt to the U.S. Government has been forgiven. Net international reserves had improved to $246 million by the end of 1993. Guyana's extremely high debt burden to foreign creditors has meant limited availability of foreign exchange and reduced capacity to import necessary raw materials, spare parts, and equipment, thereby further reducing production. The decline of production has increased unemployment. Although no reliable statistics exist, combined unemployment and underemployment are estimated at about 30%. Emigration, principally to the U.S. and Canada, is substantial.

After years of a state-dominated economy, the mechanisms for private investment, domestic or foreign, are still evolving. The shift from a state-controlled economy to a primarily free market system began under Desmond Hoyte and continued under Cheddi Jagan. The new Jagan administration recognizes the need for foreign investment to create jobs, enhance technical capabilities, and generate goods for export.

The foreign exchange market was fully liberalized in 1991 and currency is now freely traded without restriction. The rate is subject to change on a daily basis, but the Guyana dollar has dropped in value by only 15% since 1991.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

After independence in 1966, Guyana sought an influential role in international affairs, particularly among Third World and nonaligned nations. It served twice on the UN Security Council (1975-76 and 1982-83). Former Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Attorney General Mohamed Shahabuddeen served a nine-year term on the International Court of Justice (1987-96).

Guyana has diplomatic relations with a wide range of nations. The European Union (EU), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the UN Development Program (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Organization of American States (OAS), have offices in Georgetown.

Guyana strongly supports the concept of regional integration. It played an important role in the founding of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), but its status as the organization's poorest member limits its ability to exert leadership in regional activities. Guyana has sought to keep foreign policy in close alignment with the consensus of CARICOM members, especially in voting in the UN, OAS, and other international organizations.

As a member of CARICOM, which has its secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana strongly backed United States policy on Haiti and contributed personnel to the Multinational Force, which restored the democratically elected government in Haiti in October 1994.

Since its 1993 ratification of the 1988 Vienna Convention on illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, Guyana has been a member of all the major international agreements for cooperation against narcotics trafficking, and it cooperates closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Two neighbors have long-standing territorial disputes with Guyana. Since the 19th century, Venezuela has claimed all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River--62% of Guyana's territory. At a meeting in Geneva in 1966, the two countries agreed to receive recommendations from a representative of the UN Secretary General on ways to settle the dispute peacefully. Diplomatic contacts between the two countries and the Secretary General's representative continue. Neighboring Suriname also claims the Territory east of Guyana's New River, a largely uninhabited area of some 15,000 square kilometers (6,000 sq. mi.) in southeast Guyana. Guyana regards its legal title to all of its territory as sound.

U.S.-Guyanese Relations

U.S. policy toward Guyana seeks to promote democracy, sustainable development, and human rights. During the last years of his administration, President Hoyte sought to improve relations with the United States as part of a decision to move his country toward genuine political nonalignment. Relations were also improved by Hoyte's efforts to respect human rights, invite international observers for the 1992 elections, and reform electoral laws. The United States also welcomed the Hoyte government's economic reform and stimulus efforts, which stimulated investment and growth. The 1992 democratic elections and Guyana's reaffirmation of sound economic policies and respect for human rights have placed U.S.-Guyanese relations on an excellent footing. Under President Cheddi Jagan and President Hinds, the United States and Guyana continued to improve relations. President Jagan was committed to democracy, followed a pro-Western foreign policy, adopted more free market policies, and pursued sustainable development for Guyana's environment.

President Hinds joined President Clinton and 14 other Caribbean leaders in May 1997, during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, Barbados. The meeting strengthened the basis for regioinal cooperation on justice and counternarcotics, finance and development, and trade. The U.S. expects to maintain positive relations with Mrs. Jagan's government.

Following the 1992 elections, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States increased their aid to Guyana. U.S. assistance had ceased in 1982 due to economic and political differences with the Burnham regime, but in 1986, the United States began to supply humanitarian food aid to the country, to a total value of nearly $500 million in the years 1986-93. Altogether, since 1955, the United States has provided Guyana with more than $171 million in assistance.

U.S. military medical and engineering teams have conducted training exercises in Guyana, digging wells, building schools and clinics, and providing medical treatment.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Ambassador--James F. Mack
Deputy Chief of Mission--Hugh V. Simon
Chief, Political and Economic Affairs--Gregory Thome
Consular--Theresa A. Hebron
Economic and Commercial Officer--Graham Webster
Peace Corps Director--Gary Thompson
U.S. AID Country Director--Robert McDuff

The U.S. embassy in Guyana is located at the corner of Duke and Young Streets, Georgetown (tel. 592-2-54900/9; fax: 592-2-58497).

OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Trade Information Center
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 800-USA-TRADE

Caribbean/Latin American Action
1818 N Street, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 466-7464
Fax: (202) 822-0075

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov and the

Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). To access CABB, dial the modem number: (301-946-4400 (it will accommodate up to 33,600 bps), set terminal communications program to N-8-1 (no parity, 8 bits, 1 stop bit); and terminal emulation to VT100. The login is travel and the password is info (Note: Lower case is required). The CABB also carries international security information from the Overseas Security Advisory Council and Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Consular Affairs Trips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000.

Passport Services information can be obtained by calling the 24-hour, 7-day a week automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648)

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.

Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (For this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication.)

U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency.

Further Electronic Information:

Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; Country Commercial Guides; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN's World Wide Web site is at http://www.state.gov.

U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512-1800 or fax (202) 512-2250.

National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information.

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