About Guyana

 

 

 

 

The nation of Guyana sits between Brazil and the Caribbean Ocean on the continent of South America. It is slightly smaller than the US state of Idaho, with a total population of approximately 770,000.  The Dutch settled the region in the early 16th century, and ceded it to the British in 1831.  This move was largely formal, as the British had been de facto ruler of the country formerly known as British Guiana since 1796.  Following the abolition of slavery in 1834, thousands of indentured laborers, primarily from India but also from Portugal and China, were brought to Guyana to replace the African slaves on the country’s sugar cane plantations. The British stopped this practice in 1917.  Guyana’s five main ethnic groups remain East Indian, African, Amerindian, Chinese and Portuguese. The first two groups constitute the majority of the population.  Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966 and became a Republic in 1970. In 1989, Guyana launched an Economic Recovery Program, which marked a dramatic shift from its state-controlled, socialist economy towards a more open, free market system. Results through the first decade proved encouraging.

 

 

 

Here are some pertinent facts about health, development and demography in Guyana, taken from the CIA World Fact Book, with some Canadian figures for comparison:

 

 

Indicator

Guyana

Canada

Life Expectancy
(female/male)

68.95/63.52

83.86/76.98

Literacy

98.8%

99%

Birth Rate
(per 1000 pop)

18.09

10.75

Death Rate
(per 1000 pop)

8.28

7.86

Infant Mortality
(per 1000 births)

31.35

4.63

Maternal Mortality
(per 100,000 pop)

125.7

3.8

Sex Ratio
(Males/Female)

1.01

0.98

Adult Unemployment Rate

9.1%

6.4%

Fertility Rate
(# children/woman)

2.04

1.61



Some Useful Links on the country of Guyana:

The Guyanese Ministry of Health

The Sustainable Development Networking Programme

The CIA World Factbook’s Guyana Page

CDC's Guyana Tobacco page

Guyana Online

Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association

WHO's Guyana Health Indicators page

PAHO's Health Indicator search page

PAHO's Guyana Tourism Authority

PAHO's Guyana Wikipedia

 


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