ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: (June1, 2005) A valid U.S. passport is required for U.S. citizens to enter and depart Guyana. On arrival in Guyana, visitors are granted a 30-day stay. Extensions of stay may be obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs at 60 Brickdam Street, Georgetown. The Central Office of Immigration located on Camp Street, Georgetown, must then note the extension in the visitor's passport.(*) (Top)

HEALTH INFORMATION: Medical care is available for minor medical conditions. Emergency care and hospitalization for major medical illnesses or surgery is limited, due to a lack of appropriately trained specialists, below standard in-hospital care and poor sanitation. Visitors are advised to bring prescription medicine sufficient for their length of stay and should be aware that Guyana's humid climate may affect some medicine. (Top)

SECURITY CONCERNS: Serious crime is concentrated in the more populated areas of the country, and the crime rate in urban centers continues to be a major problem. Georgetown in particular suffers from violent crime, including home invasions, kidnappings, carjackings and shootings. Criminals may act brazenly, and police officers themselves have been the victims of assaults and shootings.

Tourists are advised to exchange currency only with banks, hotels, and established money exchange houses (“cambios”). Many foreigners who opt to exchange money on the streets, lured by promises of higher exchange rates, are increasingly becoming victims of fraud and recipients of counterfeit currency.(*) (Top)

PEOPLE (August 2004)
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Guyanese (sing. and pl.).
Population (last census 1991): 723,673; (2000 est.) 700,000. Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est: 765,283)
Ethnic groups: East Indian origin 49%, African origin 32%, mixed 12%, Amerindian 6%, White and Chinese 1%.
Religions: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%.
Languages: English, Guyanese Creole, Amerindian languages (primarily Carib and Arawak).
Education: Years compulsory--ages 5 1/2-14 1/2. Attendance--primary 78.6%, secondary 80.5%. Literacy--96.5% of adults who have attended school.
Health: Infant mortality rate--49/1,000. Life expectancy--men 59 yrs., women 64 yrs.
Work force (278,000): Industry and commerce--36.4%; agriculture--30.2%; services--30.2%; other--3.2%. (Top)

GEOGRAPHY
Area: 214,970 sq. km. (82,980 sq. mi.); about the size of Idaho
Cities: Capital--Georgetown (pop. 250,000). Other cities--Linden (29,000) and New Amsterdam (18,000).
Terrain: Coastal plain, inland highlands, rain forest, savanna.
Climate: Tropical. (*) (Top)

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 of 65 deputies. The ten administrative regions of the country elect 25 members, 40 are elected from party lists by proportion of the national vote. Judicial--Judicial Court of Appeal, High Court.
Subdivisions: 10 regions.
Political parties (voting seats in the National Assembly): People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) 34; People’s National Congress (PNC) 27; Guyana Action Party/Working People's Alliance (GAP/WPA) 2; Rise Organize and Rebuild (ROAR) 1; and The United Force (TUF) 1. Total seats: 65. Elections held March 19, 2001.
Suffrage: Universal at 18. (Top)

ECONOMY
GDP: $650 million.
Real annual growth rate: (2000) 0.5%., (2001) 0.5%
Per capita GDP: $760. (With a per capita gross domestic product of only $760 in 2000, Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.)
Agriculture: Products--sugar, rice.
Natural resources: Gold, bauxite, diamonds, timber, shrimp, fish.
Industry: Types--gold and bauxite mining, rice milling, beverage, food stuff processing, apparel, footwear assembly.
Trade (2000): Exports--$505 million: gold, sugar, bauxite, shrimp, rice, timber. Major markets--U.S. (24.5%), U.K., CARICOM countries, Canada. Imports--$585 million. Major suppliers--U.S. (37.7%), U.K., Venezuela, CARICOM, Canada.(*) (Top)