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 Guyana| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Bharrat Jagdeo (1999) Prime Minister: Samuel Hinds
(1999) Land area: 76,004 sq mi (196,850 sq km);
total area: 83,000 sq mi (214,970 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 772,298 (growth
rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 17.5/1000; infant mortality rate:
29.6/1000; life expectancy: 66.6; density per sq km: 3
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Georgetown, 227,700 Monetary unit: Guyanese dollar More Facts & Figures |
GeographyGuyana is the size of Idaho and is situated on
the northern coast of South America, east of Venezuela, west of Suriname,
and north of Brazil. A tropical forest covers more than 80% of the
country.
GovernmentRepublic.
HistoryThe Warrou people were the indigenous
inhabitants of Guyana. The Dutch, English, and French established colonies
in what is now known as Guyana, but by the early 17th century the majority
of the settlements were Dutch. During the Napoleonic wars Britain took
over the Dutch colonies of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo, which became
British Guiana in 1831.
Slavery was outlawed in 1834, and the great need
for plantation workers led to a large wave of immigration, primarily of
East Indians. Today, about half of the population is of East Indian
descent and about 36% are of African descent.
In 1889, Venezuela voiced its claim to a large
swath of Guyanese territory, but ten years later an international tribunal
ruled the land belonged to British Guiana.
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