Federal Republic of Guyana

Guyana (pronounced /ɡaɪˈɑːnə/ or /ɡaɪˈænə/), officially the Federal Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, Brazil to the south and Venezuela to the west. With 602,000 square kilometres, Guyana is the third-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay and Ecuador.

The region known as "Guyana" comprised the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the "Land of many waters". Originally inhabited by several indigenous groups, Guyana was settled by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as the plantation economy of British Guiana until independence in 1966, and officially became a republic. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the country's diverse population, which includes African, Amerindian, and multiracial groups.

Guyana also has the distinction of being the only South American nation in which English is the official language. The majority of the population, however, speak French and Dutch. In addition to being part of the Anglophone Caribbean, Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island in the West Indies. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a member, is headquartered in Guyana's capital in exile Georgetown. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.

Etymology
The name "Guyana" is derived from Guiana, the original name for the region that formerly included Guyana (British Guiana), Dutch Guiana, French Guiana, and parts of Colombia and Venezuela. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Guyana is derived from an Indigenous Amerindian language and means "land of many waters".

History
There are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana: the Wai Wai, Machushi, Patamona, Arawak, Carib, Wapishana, Arecuna, Akawaio, and Warrau. Historically the Arawak and Carib tribes dominated Guyana. Although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage (in 1498), the Dutch were the first to establish colonies: Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as Guiana.

Since its Independence in 1824 Venezuela has claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River. Simón Bolívar wrote to the British government warning against the Berbice and Demerara settlers settling on land which the Venezuelans, as assumed heirs of Spanish claims on the area dating to the sixteenth century, claimed was theirs. In 1899 an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to Great Britain. The border disputes persist and no final settlement has been reached

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and remained a republic ever since. The US State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with the British government, played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time. The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the early years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was identified as a Marxist. They provided secret financial support and political campaign advice to Burnham's People's National Congress, to the detriment of the Jagan-led People's Progressive Party, which was mostly supported by Guyanese of East Indian background.

Geography
The country can be divided into five natural regions; a narrow and fertile marshy plain along the Atlantic coast (low coastal plain) where most of the population lives; a white sand belt more inland (hilly sand and clay region), containing most of Guyana's mineral deposits; the dense rainforests (Forested Highland Region) in the southern part of the country; the desert savannah in the southern west; and the smallest interior lowlands (interior savannah) consisting mostly of mountains that gradually rise to the Brazilian border.

Some of Guyana's highest mountains are Mount Ayanganna (2,042 metres or 6,699 feet), Monte Caburaí (1,465 metres or 4,806 feet) and Mount Roraima (2,810 metres or 9,219 feet – the highest mountain in Guyana) on the Brazil-Guyana-Venezuela tripoint border, part of the Pakaraima range. Mount Roraima and Guyana's table-top mountains (tepuis) are said to have been the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World. There are also many volcanic escarpments and waterfalls, including Kaieteur Falls which is believed to be the largest water drop in the world. North of the Rupununi River lies the Rupununi savannah, south of which lie the Kanuku Mountains.

The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, the second from mid-November to mid-January. Guyana has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almost inaccessible by humans. The rich natural history of Guyana was described by early explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton and later by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell. In 2008, the BBC ran a three-part programme called Lost Land of the Jaguar which highlighted the huge diversity of wildlife, including undiscovered species and rare species such as the giant otter and harpy eagle.

In 2012, Guyana received a $45 million reward from Norway for its rainforest protection efforts. This stems from a 2009 agreement between the nations for a total of $250 million for protecting and maintaining the natural habitat. Thus far, the country has received $115 million of the total grant.

Regions and Provinces
Main articles: Regions of Guyana

The Federal Republic of Guyana is divided into 29 provinces.

Boundary disputes
Guyana is in border disputes with Venezuela which claims the land west of the Essequibo River, once the Dutch colony of Essequibo as part of Venezuela's Guayana Essequiba. When the British surveyed British Guiana in 1840, they included the entire Cuyuni River basin within the colony. Venezuela did not agree with this as it claimed all lands west of the Essequibo River. In 1898, at Venezuela's request, an international arbitration tribunal was convened, and in 1899 they issued an award giving about 94% of the disputed territory to British Guiana.

Venezuela never has accepted the award by this treaty, and raised the issue again at the time of Guyana's independence. This issue is now governed by the Treaty of Geneva of 1966, which was signed by the Governments of Guyana, Great Britain and Venezuela, and Venezuela continues to claim Guayana Esequiba. Venezuela calls this region "Zona en Reclamación" (Reclamation Zone) and Venezuelan maps of the national territory routinely include it, drawing it in with dashed lines.

Environment and biodiversity
The following habitats have been categorised for Guyana: coastal, marine, littoral, estuarine palustrine, mangrove, riverine, lacustrine, swamp, savanna, white sand forest, brown sand forest, montane, cloud forest, moist lowland and dry evergreen scrub forests (NBAP, 1999). About 14 areas of biological interest have been identified as possible hotspots for a National Protected Area System.

More than 80% of Guyana is still covered by forests, ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rainforests. These forests are home to more than a thousand species of trees. Guyana's tropical climate, unique geology, and relatively pristine ecosystems support extensive areas of species-rich rainforests and natural habitats with high levels of endemism. Approximately eight thousand species of plants occur in Guyana, half of which are found nowhere else.

Guyana has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Guyana, with 2,024 vertebrate species, 1,642 bird species, boasts one of the richest mammalian fauna assemblages of any comparably sized area in the world. The Guiana Shield region is little known and extremely rich biologically. Unlike other areas of South America, over 40% of the natural habitat remains pristine.

Economy
The main economic activities in Guyana are agriculture (production of rice and Demerara sugar), bauxite mining, gold mining, timber, shrimp fishing and minerals. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labour and a deficient infrastructure. In 2008, the economy witnessed a 3% increase in growth amid the global economic crisis, grew an impressive 5.4% in 2011 and 3.7% in 2012.

200 Until recently, the government was juggling a sizeable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. Low prices for key mining and agricultural commodities combined with troubles in the bauxite and sugar industries, had threatened the government's tenuous fiscal position and dimmed prospects for the future. However, the Guyanese economy has rebounded slightly and exhibited moderate economic growth since 1999, thanks to an expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favourable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organisations.

The sugar industry, which accounts for 28% of all export earnings, is largely run by the company Guysuco, which employs more people than any other industry. Many industries have a large foreign investment. For example, the mineral industry is heavily invested in by the American company Reynolds Metals and the British-Australian Rio Tinto's Rio Tinto Alcan subsidiary; the Korean/Malaysian Barama Company has a large stake in the logging industry.

Demographics
Most of Guyana's population (70%) lives in a narrow coastal strip which ranges from 40 kilometres in width and which makes up approximately 30% of the nation's total land area.

The present population of Guyana is racially and ethnically heterogeneous, with ethnic groups originating from Africa and Europe, as well as indigenous or aboriginal peoples. Despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds, these groups share four common languages: English, French, Dutch and Portuguese.

Guyana's population is mainly divided between the 4 districts. In Guyana people mostly speak English, in Suriname the majority of the people speak Dutch, due to Dutch colonialism in the past. In Guyane people mostly speak French and in Amapa Portuguese is the official language.

The distribution pattern in the 2002 census was similar to those of the

1980 and 1991 censuses, but the share of the two main groups has declined. Indo-Guyanese made up 5.9% of the total population in 1980, but by 1991 this had fallen to 3.6%, and then to 6.5% in the 2002 census. Those of African descent increased slightly from 9.8% to 13.3% during the first period (1980 and 1991) before falling to 6.2% in the 2002 census. With small growth in the overall population, the decline in the shares of the two larger groups has resulted in the relative increase of shares of the multiracial and Amerindian groups. The Amerindian population rose by 9,097 people between 1991 and 2002. This represents an increase of 6.3% or annual growth of 3.5%. Similarly, the multiracial population increased by 15,788 persons, representing a 12.0% increase or annual growth rate of 3.2% from the base period of 1991 census.

Largest cities
Largest cities and towns of Guyana.

Language
English is the official language of Guyana and is used for education, government, media, and services. The vast majority of the population speaks French as their native tongue. In addition, Dutch and Portuguese are spoken widely throughout the country, while Native languages are retained for cultural and religious reasons.

Religion
Data from a 2002 census on religious affiliation indicated that approximately 78% of the population was Christian, 4% were Hindu and 7% were Muslims, while 11% of the population did not profess any religion.

Most Guyanese Christians are either Protestants or Roman Catholics and include a mix of all races.