Guyana

Guyana is located on the northern shores of South America, sharing borders with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. Only 25 per cent of Guyana’s 2 933 km frontier is coastline. With an area of around 197 000 km², Guyana is one of the smallest countries in South America. The low coastal plains, which account for about 5 per cent of the land area accommodates about 90 per cent of the population and lies between 1 m and 1.5 m below sea level at high tide. The shoreline is protected by a complex set of seawalls and sluices, much of it built by the Dutch in the 19^th century. Further inland, a sand belt supports dense virgin, hardwood rainforest and is where Guyana's reserves of bauxite, gold and diamonds are principally found. Further inland, the mountainous grasslands support only grazing.

Known as the ‘land of many waters,’ Guyana claims the world’s widest and longest single-drop waterfall - the Kaieteur Falls – which at 251 m are four times higher than Niagara, with an average flow rate of 663 cubic meters per second. Reputedly, Guyana was also home to the famed El Dorado – the lost city of gold.

Guyana enjoys a humid, tropical climate, relieved by northeast trade winds. There are two rainy seasons (May to mid-August and November to January), during which, more than half over half of the average 2 300 mm of rain per year falls in the capital Georgetown. The average monthly temperatures in Guyana range between 25°C in February and 27°C in October. Guyana lies south of the Caribbean hurricane pathway -—
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—-. According to the United Nations University -—
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—- World Risk Index, Guyana ranks 6th in the list of world’s most at-risk country for natural hazards.

Agriculture, fishing together with mining are among Guyana’s most important economic activities, with sugar, rum, rice and gold production accounting for 70 to 75 per cent of export earnings. The share of agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing in GDP has been gradually declining over the years and was just below 20 per cent in 2019, while industry accounts for almost one third and services nearly half of GDP. -—
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In 2019, 17 per cent of the labor force was engaged in agriculture, 23 per cent in industry, and 60 per cent in the services sector -—
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—-. Over 80 per cent of employed women were engaged in service jobs. Despite this high employment share in services, in 2019, inbound tourism expenditure accounted for only 0.6 per cent of GDP -—
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—-. In 2019, top destinations for exports included Germany, Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago -—
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Guyana boasts six ethnic groups, several religions, with influences from both mainland South America and the Caribbean, and it is the only English-speaking country in South America. At 43.5 m, Saint George’s Cathedral, built in 1892, in Georgetown, was once the tallest wooden church in the world.

The cuisine embodies the ethnic makeup of the country and reflects its history, comprising Amerindian, European, African, East Indian, Portuguese and Chinese dishes. ‘Seven curry’ is a popular dish that is the most important ritual food too. It is served with rice or roti, mashed pumpkin cooked with curry powder and brown sugar, chickpeas, potatoes, curried mangoes and dhal.

Sports is an integral part of Guyanese culture. Cricket, softball, soccer, field hockey, rounders, netball, lawn tennis, table tennis, basketball, squash, boxing, horse racing and rugby are all popular sports. Guyana has produced its share of colourfully named, internationally recognized, athletes, such as, Andrew “Sixhead” Lewis, Wayne “Big Truck” Braithwaite and “Vicious” Vivian Harris, all of whom are world title boxers, and the female boxer Gwendolyn “Stealth Bomber” O'Neil.