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Georgetown is the capital of Guyana, located in Region 4, which is also known as the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is the country's largest urban centre. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.'

Georgetown serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre. It also serves as a financial services centre. The city recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 census.

History 

The city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century. Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on Borselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the Dutch. When the colony was captured by the British in 1781, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kingston chose the mouth of the Demerara River for the establishment of a town which was situated between Plantations Werk-en-rust and Vlissengen.

It was the French who made it a capital city when they colonized it in 1782. The French called the capital Longchamps. When the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and President of the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered the estates of Vlissengen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North, and Werk-en-rust and La Repentir to the South.

It was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honour of King George III. On 5 May 1812 an ordinance was passed to the effect that the town formerly called Stabroek, with districts extending from La Penitence to the bridges in Kingston and entering upon the road to the military camps, shall be called Georgetown.

The ordinance provided that the various districts of Georgetown shall be known by their own names.  The supervision of Georgetown was to be done by a committee chosen by the Governor and Court of Policy.  Estimates of expenditure were to be prepared.

By 1806 the owner of Vlissingen asked to be exempted from the responsibility of maintaining the road which is now called Camp Street, but the Court refused the request.  In 1810 the maintenance of the roads in the area called Georgetown cost 11,000 guilders per annum.

The governing body of Georgetown was once a Board of Police.  The Board of Police was chosen by the governor and the Court of Policy.  It came into existence as the result of disputes among various organisations which controlled the districts.

The Board met monthly but what was discussed is not on the records between 1825 and 1837. Newspapers in the colony were prohibited by law from reporting public matters.

The post of Commisary of Police was not regarded as important.  People elected to the Board invariably declined to attend meetings and never gave reasons for their refusal.

It was, therefore, decided that individuals elected to the Board were bound to serve for two years, or suffer a penalty of 1,000 guilders.

The Board of Police was abolished when an ordinance was passed to establish a Mayor and Town Council.

Georgetown gained official city status on 24 August 1842 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The names of Georgetown's wards and streets reflect the influence of the Dutch, French and English who administered the town at different periods of history.

Cummingsburg was originally named Pln. La Bourgade by its first owner, Jacques Salignac. It was laid out in streets and building lots by its second proprietor, Thomas Cuming, a Scotsman, after whom it is named. He made a presentation of the Militia Parade Ground and Promenade Gardens to the town as a gift. It is noteworthy that Carmichael Street was named after General Hugh Lyle Carmichael who served as Governor from 1812 to 1813. He died in March 1813 and was buried in the Officers' Cemetery, Eve Leary.

Water Street was so called because it ran along the riverside and formed the original river dam. High Street formed the leading road from the East Bank to the East Coast of Demerara. The part of High Street that ran through Cummingsburg was called Main Street. Camp Street received its name because it was the road which led to the camp or garrison at the northern end of the city. Kingston got its name from King George of England. It was part of Pln. Eve Leary which was named after the wife or daughter of its owner, Cornelis Leary. Some of the streets of Kingston have military names because the garrison used to be located there, e.g. Parade Street, Barrack Street and Fort Street.

Lacytown was another leasehold portion of Plantation Vlissengen. L.M. Hill claims that it was named after General Sir De Lacy Evans, a Crimean war hero. However, James Rodway claims that it was named after George Lacy who bought part of the plantation from R.B. Daly, representative of Vlissengen. The owner of Vlissengen was Joseph Bourda, Member of the Court of Policy. After his son and heir disappeared at sea, the government claimed the property under the authority of the Vlissengen Ordinance of 1876. A new district of Bourda was laid out and Lacytown was improved by the Board of Vlissengen Commissioners.

Bourda Street and the ward of Bourda were named after Joseph Bourda, Member of the Court of Policy and former owner of Pln. Vlissengen. It was laid out by the Commissioner of Vlissengen in 1879. The Bourda Cemetery holds the remains of many old citizens of Georgetown. Only those persons who owned family vaults or burial rights in the enclosed ground used it.

In 1945 a large fire (The Great Fire) broke out in the city causing widespread damage.

Geography 

Georgetown is located on Guyana's Atlantic coast on the east bank of Demerara River estuary. The terrain in this part of the country where the city is located is flat coastal plains. The city is surrounded by a blanket of cane fields along with marshy swamps, and savannah lands on its east and south. The Elevation of the land is one metre below the high tide level. This low elevation is protected by a retaining wall known as the seawall to keep the ocean out and an innovative network of canals with kokers to drain the city of excess water.

Climate 

Georgetown has a year-round hot tropical rainforest climate. Relative humidity fluctuates throughout the year with the highest occurring in May, June, August and December–January; these months are usually the rainiest part of the year. Between the months of September to November relative humidity is lower ushering in the drier season.

Georgetown does not truly have a dry season - monthly precipitation in all 12 months is above 60 mm. Because of its location Georgetown’s temperatures are moderated by the North-East trade winds blowing in from the North Atlantic and so it rarely sees temperatures above 31 degrees Celsius.

The capital city 

Georgetown is the seat of the central Government of Guyana. All Executive Departments are located in the city. Parliament Building, Guyana's Legislative Building, is also found in Georgetown and so is the Court of Appeals, Guyana's highest judicial court.

The State House (the official residence of the Head of State), as well as the offices and residence of the Head of Government, are both located in the city. Georgetown is the capital city as well as the main economic base of Guyana.

Economy 

Georgetown is Guyana's largest urban centre, containing a large portion of its commerce. It is an important city for Guyana and the Caribbean. Within the metro area there is the CARICOM headquarters, the Administrative Arm of the Caribbean Regional Integration Organisation. Georgetown also is home to a seaport.  Guyana's international airport,  Cheddi Jagan International Airport/Timehri, an hour south of Georgetown is a destination for Caribbean Airlines (the airline formerly known as BWIA or ""bwee""), LIAT, META, and Travel Span GT.

Closer to the city is the newly expanded Ogle Airport, with a terminal facility geared to handle regional, international and inter-Caricom flights, connecting CARICOM states with the CARICOM Secretariat. The city has many highway projects under construction although the four-lane East Coast Highway was completed in 2005. Georgetown accounts for a large portion of Guyana's GDP.

Transportation

Marine transport

Georgetown is serviced by a Speed Boat Association.

Passenger air service

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (formerly Timehri Airport) acts as the major air transportation hub for the city, which is located on the right bank of the Demerara River, 41 kilometres south of Georgetown. Direct international flights as well as connecting service from New York City, Miami, Toronto, Panama City, Panama, Bridgetown, Port of Spain, Paramaribo, Aruba and Curaçao are flown.  All scheduled passenger jet service for Georgetown is operated via this international airport.

Close-in Ogle Airport also serves Georgetown.  Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) operates scheduled passenger flights from Ogle with ATR regional propjet aircraft nonstop to Port of Spain and Barbados as well as direct to other Caribbean islands.  Helicopters also use this airport for support of offshore oil and gas exploration activities.

Mass transport & ground transport

There is a regular coach service between Georgetown and Boa Vista in Brazil, and once-daily connections to Paramaribo, Suriname via a ferry crossing on the Corentyne River. Transportation can be by bus, car, or boat. The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a major crossing point.  The Berbice Bridge located to the east near New Amsterdam, Guyana is also transfer point to get to Georgetown or anywhere else.  Most of the West Coast, East Bank, East Coast and Berbice, Guyana are served by numerous private buses.  Taxi service is available almost everywhere along the coast including in large numbers in Georgetown.  A number of highways have been newly constructed and the government is working to rehabilitate all roads in the country.

Cost of living 

Many items used in daily life are imported with high transportation cost involved. Monopoly in some business sectors further raising the prices of common commodities. Electricity prices are about US$0.33 per unit.  A domestic gas bottle (or gas cylinder) is over US$20.  Rent for a two bedroom apartment is about US$175–200 per month in safe city center locations.

Demographics

Georgetown recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 Guyanese census, down 12 percent from the 134,497 people counted in the 2002 census. In 2002, about 70,962 (53%) listed themselves as Black/African; 31,902 (24%) as mixed; 26,542 (20%) as East Indian;  1,441 (1.1%) as Amerindian; 1075 (0.4%) as Portuguese; 475 (0.35%) as Chinese; 2,265 (1.7%) as "don't know/not stated"; 196 (0.15%) as white not of Portuguese descent; 35 as "other". 

Points of interest

Georgetown is laid out in a north-south, east-west grid, interlaced with canals protected by kokers, or sluices, built by the Dutch and later the British that provide drainage to a city that lies 3 ft below high-tide level. A long sea wall helps prevent flooding. The city has numerous boulevards and contains many wooden colonial buildings and markets.

Most of the main buildings are centred around the western region of the town. Around the western-central area is Independence Square and Promenade Gardens, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, the National Library (built by Andrew Carnegie), the Bank of Guyana, Company Path Garden, the National Museum of Guyana and State House (built 1852) where the President resides, and St. George's Anglican Cathedral. There are many churches, mosques and mandirs in Georgetown.

The Georgetown Cenotaph, at Main and Church Streets, was built in 1923. It is the site of Remembrance Day (Remembrance Sunday) services in November each year.

To the south of this region is where the neo-Gothic City Hall (1889) is to be found, as well as the Victoria Law Courts (1887), the Parliament Building (1829–1834), the large Stabroek Market (1792) containing the prominent cast-iron clock tower that dominates the city sky line, the Roman Catholic Brickdam Cathedral, City Engineer House, the Magistrate's Court, St. Andrew's Kirk (1818) and Independence Arch.

The northern area of the city near the Atlantic coast contains Splashmins Fun Park, Fort William Frederick, a park and the Umana Yana, a conical thatched building built by Wai-Wai Amerindians using traditional techniques. It was built for the 1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference. The Georgetown Lighhouse is a famous landmark.

The City is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by the Georgetown Seawall.

Georgetown is the seat of the University of Guyana and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat which are both located at Turkeyen, on the city's outskirts.

Tourism 

There are many tourist attractions in Georgetown, including St. George's Anglican Cathedral, Stabroek Market, Demerara Harbour Bridge, the [http://mcys.gov.gy/national_museum_history.html Guyana museum], and the Pegasus Hotel. Georgetown receives more than 450,000 tourists per year, which is almost 86% of Guyana's total tourism. The city has a zoo, a lighthouse, and Amerindian huts.

Performing arts

Georgetown's theatre scene is dominantly concentrated on the stages of the National Cultural Centre. Plays are also staged at the theatre guild of Guyana. This is the oldest theatrical performance facility in Guyana. It was opened in 1957 and restored in 2007.

Regions of Georgetown 

Georgetown has expanded dramatically through the years and may be divided into three Geographical regions:

Georgetown - referring to Central Georgetown includes the Business district as well as the seat of the national Government.

Greater Georgetown - contains some of the most expensive and luxurious metropolitan neighbourhoods. Bel Air Park, Bel Air Gardens, Lamaha Gardens and Bel Air Springs are well known ultimately as places for the rich and powerful. Most residents here are high ranking executives or government officials. These close gated neighbourhoods of the city are mostly concentrated in the northeastern part towards Greater Georgetown and the Atlantic.

Greater Georgetown contains some notable places such as:

*The University of Guyana (Headquarters)
*The Cyril Potter College of Education
*The Caribbean Community Secretariat (Headquarters of CARICOM)
*The Guyana International Conference Centre
*Ocean View International Hotel
*Guyana Sugar Corporation (Headquarters of the country's largest corporation)
*Ogle Airport (Guyana's local air transport facility)

South Georgetown - incorporated communities of neighbourhoods along the eastern bank of the Demerara River such as Sophia, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Albouystown, and Agricola. Those are well known and highly regarded poor areas of the city.  Some areas such as Houston Estates, Ruimvelt and Thirst Park have retained high levels of affluence.

City neighbourhoods

Known for its historic importance, Georgetown remains the administrative centre for the central Government.

North of Georgetown lies Main Street, where the Head of State's official residence can be found along with several other important Government buildings including the Ministry of Finance. East of Georgetown stretches towards the Avenue of the Republic where Georgetown's City Hall building is located as well as the St. George's Cathedral. Also on the East side is Brickdam which is the single most concentrated area of Executive departments and agencies. The Ministries of Health, Education, Home Affairs, Housing and Water are all located on Brickdam.

West of Stabroek Market is the Port of Georgetown, the largest and busiest shipping point in Guyana.
Stabroek Market itself contains the Ministry of Labour as well as the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. It is also the host facility for the equally famous Stabroek markets.

*Regent Street - Georgetown's premier shopping district.
*Sheriff Street - Guyana's main entertainment area; contains most of the city's clubs, bars and restaurants.

Suburbs 

Suburban Georgetown consists of Greater Georgetown and Uptown Georgetown and contains the following suburbs of the city :

*Republic Park
*Nandy Park
*Providence
*Felicity
*Bel Air
*Vreed en Hoop
*Kingston
*Subryanville
*Lamaha Gardens

Crime 

Armed robberies occur regularly in Georgetown, especially in businesses and shopping districts.  Particularly high crime areas of Georgetown include Tiger Bay, Albouystown, Sophia, all of south Georgetown, Buxton and Agricola.  Robberies are a daily occurrence in the Stabroek Market area. A number of assaults have taken place in the Botanic Gardens.

Utilities

*Power is supplied by the state-owned and controlled Guyana Power and Light.
*Water and solid waste disposal is handled by state-owned [http://www.gwiguyana.com/ Guyana Water Incorporated].
*Telephone and high-speed Internet access are supplied by U.S.-owned Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company.
*Cellular services are also provided by Digicel and U.S.-owned Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company.
*Satellite television services are offered by Sky Digital Networks (Guyana) Inc.
*Satellite television services are offered by DirecTV Caribbean.
*Wireless Internet and Communication services are provided by Java Technologies and Globespan Technology.

Notable people

* C. M. Rubin, children's book writer, born in Georgetown
* Sudesh Fitzgerald, professional darts player, born in Georgetown
* C. C. H. Pounder, a Guyanese-American actress, born in Georgetown
* Walter Rodney, historian of Africa, born in Georgetown, Guyana
* Dušan Velkaverh, Slovenian lyricist, born in Georgetown, Guyana

Twin towns – Sister cities

Georgetown has several sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
*  - St. Louis, Missouri (United States)
*  - Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
*  - Paramaribo, Suriname
*  - Pyongyang, North Korea Guyana (pronounced or),   officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana,  is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, included in the Caribbean due to its rich cultural, historical, and political ties with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east and Venezuela to the west. With 215000 sqkm, Guyana is the fourth-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay, Suriname, and French Guiana.

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 within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the country's diverse population, which includes Indian, 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 Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language with slight Dutch, Arawakan and Caribbean influences. 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 and largest city, 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), Suriname (Dutch Guiana), French Guiana, and parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. 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 British 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 became a republic on 23 February 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. 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.

In 1978, Guyana received international notice when 918 members of the American cult, Peoples Temple, died in a mass murder/suicide. However, most of the suicides were by Americans and not Guyanese. More than 300 children were killed; the people were members of a group led by Jim Jones in Jonestown, the settlement which they had created. Jim Jones's bodyguards had earlier attacked people taking off at a small remote airstrip close to Jonestown, killing five people, including Leo Ryan, the only US congressman ever assassinated in the line of duty.

In May 2008, President Bharrat Jagdeo was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. Guyana has ratified the treaty.

Geography 

The territory controlled by Guyana lies between latitudes 1° and 9°N, and longitudes 56° and 62°W.

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 rain forests (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 (2042 m), Monte Caburaí (1465 m) and Mount Roraima (2810 m – 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 four longest rivers are the Essequibo at 1010 km long, the Courantyne River at 724 km, the Berbice at 595 km, and the Demerara at 346 km. The Corentyne river forms the border with Suriname. At the mouth of the Essequibo are several large islands, including the 145 km wide Shell Beach lies along the northwest coast, which is also a major breeding area for sea turtles (mainly leatherbacks) and other wildlife.

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 Neighbourhood Councils
 

Guyana is divided into 10 regions:  

The regions are divided into 27 neighbourhood councils. 

Boundary disputes

Guyana is in border disputes with both Suriname, which claims the area east of the left bank of the Corentyne River and the New River in southwestern Suriname, and Venezuela which claims the land west of the Essequibo River, once the Dutch colony of Essequibo as part of Venezuela's Guayana Essequiba.    The maritime   component of the territorial dispute with Suriname was arbitrated by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, and a ruling was announced on 21 September 2007. The ruling concerning the Caribbean Sea north of both nations found both parties violated treaty obligations and declined to order any compensation to either party. 

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. 

Specific small disputed areas involving Guyana are Ankoko Island with Venezuela; Corentyne River  with Suriname; and New River Triangle  with Suriname. In 1967 a Surinamese survey team was found in the New River Triangle and was forcibly removed. In August 1969 a patrol of the Guyana Defence Force found an unauthorised military camp and a partially completed airstrip inside the triangle, and documented evidence of the Surinamese intention to occupy the entire disputed area. After an exchange of gunfire, the Surinamese were driven from the triangle.

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, those forest also contains the worlds rarest orcids  ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rain forests. 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 rain forests 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 1,168 vertebrate species, 814 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 70% of the natural habitat remains pristine.

The rich natural history of British Guiana was described by early explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton and later by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell.

In February 2004, the Government of Guyana issued a title to more than 1 e6acre of land in the Konashen Indigenous District declaring this land as the Konashen Community-Owned Conservation Area (COCA), to be managed by the Wai Wai. In doing so Guyana created the world's largest Community-Owned Conservation Area. 

This important event followed a request made by the Wai Wai community to the government of Guyana and Conservation International Guyana (CIG) for assistance in developing a sustainable plan for their lands in Konashen. The three parties signed a Memorandum of Cooperation which outlines a plan for sustainable use of the Konashen COCA's biological resources, identifies threats to the area's biodiversity, and helps develop projects to increase awareness of the COCA as well as generate the income necessary to maintain its protected status.

The Konashen Indigenous District of Southern Guyana houses the headwaters of the Essequibo River, Guyana's principal water source, and drains the Kassikaityu, Kamoa, Sipu and Chodikar rivers. Southern Guyana is host to some of the most pristine expanses of evergreen forests in the northern part of South America. Most of the forests found here are tall, evergreen hill-land and lower montane forests, with large expanses of flooded forest along major rivers. Thanks to the very low human population density of the area, most of these forests are still intact. The Smithsonian Institution has identified nearly 2,700 species of plants from this region, representing 239 distinct families, and there are certainly additional species still to be recorded.

Such incredible diversity of plants supports even more impressive diversity of animal life, recently documented by a biological survey organised by Conservation International. The clean, unpolluted waters of the Essequibo watershed support a remarkable diversity of fish and aquatic invertebrates, and are home to giant otters, capybaras, and several species of caimans.

On land, large mammals, such as jaguars, tapirs, bush dogs, giant anteaters, and saki monkeys are still common. Over 400 species of birds have been reported from the region, and the reptile and amphibian faunas are similarly rich. The Konashen COCA forests are also home to countless species of insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates, many of which are still undiscovered and unnamed.

The Konashen COCA is relatively unique in that it contains a high level of biological diversity and richness that remains in nearly pristine condition; such places have become rare on earth. This fact has given rise to various non-exploitative, environmentally sustainable industries such as ecotourism, successfully capitalising on the biological wealth of the Konashen COCA with comparatively little enduring impact.

World Heritage sites

Guyana signed the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage treaty in 1977, the first Caribbean country to do so. In the mid-1990s, Guyana began the process of selecting sites for World Heritage nomination, and three sites were considered: Kaieteur National Park, Shell Beach and Historic Georgetown. By 1997, work on Kaieteur National Park was started, and in 1998 work on Historic Georgetown was begun. To date, however, Guyana has not made a successful nomination.

Guyana submitted the Kaieteur National Park, including the Kaieteur Falls, to UNESCO as its first World Heritage Site nomination. The proposed area and surrounds have some of Guyana's most diversified life zones with one of the highest levels of endemic species found in South America. The Kaieteur Falls are the most spectacular feature of the park, falling a distance of 226 metres. The nomination of Kaieteur Park as a World Heritage Site was not successful, primarily because the area was seen by the evaluators as being too small, especially when compared with the Central Suriname Nature Reserve that had just been nominated as a World Heritage Site (2000). The dossier was thus returned to Guyana for revision.

Guyana continues in its bid for a World Heritage Site. Work continues, after a period of hiatus, on the nomination dossier for Historic Georgetown. A tentative list indicating an intention to nominate Historic Georgetown was submitted to UNESCO in December 2004. In April 2005, two Dutch experts in conservation spent two weeks in Georgetown supervising architecture staff and students of the University of Guyana in a historic building survey of the selected area. This is part of the data collection for the nomination dossier.

Meanwhile, as a result of the Kaieteur National Park being considered too small, there is a proposal to prepare a nomination for a Cluster Site that will include the Kaieteur National Park, the Iwokrama Forest and the Kanuku Mountains. The Iwokrama rain forest, an area rich in biological diversity, has been described by Major General (Retired) Joseph Singh as "a flagship project for conservation." The Kanuku Mountains area is in a pristine state and is home to more than four hundred species of birds and other animals. 

Guyana holds two of the World Wildlife Fund's Global 200 eco-regions, the Guianan and Guiana Highlands moist forests. It is also home to several endemic species including the greenheart tree.

Landmarks

; St. George's Anglican Cathedral: One of the tallest wooden church structures in the world and the second tallest wooden house of worship after the Todaiji Temple in Japan.
; Demerara Harbour Bridge: The world's fourth-longest floating bridge.
; Berbice Bridge: The world's sixth-longest floating bridge.
; Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Building: Houses the headquarters of the largest and most powerful economic union in the Caribbean.
; Providence Stadium: Situated on Providence on the north bank of the Demerara River and built in time for the ICC World Cup 2007, it is the largest sports stadium in the country. It is also near the Providence Mall, forming a major spot for leisure in Guyana.
; Guyana International Conference Centre: Presented as a gift from the People's Republic of China to the Government of Guyana. It is the only one of its kind in the country.
; Stabroek Market: A large cast-iron colonial structure that looked like a statue was located next to the Demerara River.
; City Hall: A beautiful wooden structure also from the colonial era.
; Takutu River Bridge: A bridge across the Takutu River, connecting Lethem in Guyana to Bonfim in Brazil.[http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/07/29/takutu-bridge-to-open-friday/ Takutu River Bridge]

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.

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.

The production of balatá (natural latex) was once big business in Guyana. Most of the balata bleeding in Guyana took place in the foothills of the Kanuku Mountains in the Rupununi. Early exploitation also took place in the North West District, but most of the trees in the area were destroyed by illicit bleeding methods that involved cutting down the trees rather than making incisions in them. Uses of balatá included the making of cricket balls, the temporary filling of troublesome tooth cavities, and the crafting of figurines and other decorative items (particularly by the Macushi people of the Kanuku mountains).

Major private sector organisations include the Private Sector Commission (PSC)  and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI); 

The government initiated a major overhaul of the tax code in early 2007. The Value Added Tax (VAT) was brought into effect, replacing six different taxes. Prior to the implementation of the VAT, it had been relatively easy to evade sales tax, and many businesses were in violation of tax code. Many businesses were very opposed to VAT introduction because of the extra paperwork required; however, the Government has remained firm on the VAT. By replacing several taxes with one flat tax rate, it will also be easier for government auditors to spot embezzlement. This was prevalent under the former PPP/C regime who authorised the VAT to be equal to 50% of the value of the good. While the adjustment to VAT has been difficult, it may improve day-to-day life because of the significant additional funds the government will have available for public spending.

President Bharrat Jagdeo had made debt relief a foremost priority of his administration. He was quite successful, getting US$800 million of debt written off by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in addition to millions more from other industrial nations. Jagdeo was lauded by IDB President Moreno for his strong leadership and negotiating skills in pursuing debt relief for Guyana and several other regional countries.

Summary

Demographics 

Most of Guyana's population (90%) lives in a narrow coastal strip which ranges from 10 to in width and which makes up approximately 10% of the nation's total land area. 

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

The largest ethnic group is the Indo-Guyanese (also known as East Indians), the descendants of indentured labourers from India, who make up 43.5% of the population, according to the 2002 census. They are followed by the Afro-Guyanese, the descendants of slaves from Africa, who constitute 30.2%. Guyanese of mixed heritage make up 16.7%, while the indigenous peoples (known locally as Amerindians) make up 9.1%. The indigenous groups include the Arawaks, the Wai Wai, the Caribs, the Akawaio, the Arecuna, the Patamona, the Wapixana, the Macushi and the Warao. The two largest groups, the Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese, have experienced some racial tension.   

Most Indo-Guyanese are descended from Bhojpuri-speaking Bihari and Uttar Pradesh migrants.  Many Indo-Guyanese are also descended Tamil speaking Tamils from Tamil Nadu, and Telugus of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in South India. 

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 51.9% of the total population in 1980, but by 1991 this had fallen to 48.6%, and then to 43.5% in the 2002 census. Those of African descent increased slightly from 30.8% to 32.3% during the first period (1980 and 1991) before falling to 30.2% 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 22,097 people between 1991 and 2002. This represents an increase of 47.3% or annual growth of 3.5%. Similarly, the multiracial population increased by 37,788 persons, representing a 43.0% increase or annual growth rate of 3.2% from the base period of 1991 census. The number of Portuguese (4.3% of the population in 1891) has been declining constantly over the decades. 

Largest cities

Language

English is the official language of Guyana and is used for education, government, media, and services. The vast majority of the population speaks Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole with slight African and East Indian influence, as their native tongue.  In addition, Cariban languages (Akawaio, Wai-Wai, and Macushi) are spoken by a small minority, while Indic languages are retained for cultural and religious reasons.

Religion

Data from a 2002 census on religious affiliation indicated that approximately 57% of the population was Christian, 28% were Hindu and 7% were Muslims, while 4% of the population did not profess any religion.[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90256.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Guyana]. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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

Government and politics 

The politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guyana is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Guyana.

Historically, politics are a source of tension in the country, and violent riots have often broken out during elections. During the 1970s and 1980s, the political landscape was dominated by the People's National Congress.

In 1992, the first "free and fair" elections were overseen by former United States President Jimmy Carter, and the People's Progressive Party has led the country since. The two parties are principally organised along ethnic lines and as a result often clash on issues related to the allocation of resources.

General Elections were held on 28 November 2011, which resulted in a re-election of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) and installation of that party's presidential candidate Donald Ramotar as President.

On 11 May 2015, early general elections were held, resulting in a victory for A Partnership For National Unity-Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) Coalition party. APNU-AFC, a multi-ethnic, multi-party coalition, won a majority, 33 of 65 seats in the National Assembly. On 16 May 2015, retired army general David A. Granger was sworn in as the eighth Executive President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

Military

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military service of Guyana.

Infrastructure and telecommunications 

Transport

There are a total of 116 mi of railway, all dedicated to ore transport. There are 4952 mi of highway, of which 367 mi are paved. Navigable waterways extend to 669 mi, including the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers.
There are ports at Georgetown, Port Kaituma, and New Amsterdam. There is one international airport (Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri); one regional airport (Ogle Airport); and about 90 airstrips, nine of which have paved runways. Guyana, Suriname and the Falkland Islands are the only three regions in South America which drive on the left.

Electricity

The electricity sector in Guyana is dominated by Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the state-owned vertically integrated utility. Although the country has a large potential for hydroelectric and bagasse-fueled power generation, most of its 226 MW of installed capacity correspond to inefficient thermoelectric diesel-engine driven generators.

Several initiatives are in place to improve energy access in the hinterland.

Water supply and sanitation

Key issues in the water and sanitation sector in Guyana are poor service quality, a low level of cost recovery and low levels of access. A high-profile management contract with the British company Severn Trent was cancelled by the government in February 2007. In 2008 the public utility Guyana Water Inc implemented a Turnaround Plan (TAP) to reduce non-revenue water and to financially consolidate the utility. NRW reduction is expected to be 5% per annum for the three-year period of the plan, A midterm review is now due to examine the success of the TAP.

Telecommunications

Per the CIA World Factbook:

Telephone system

* Telephones : 154,200 main telephone lines (2012)
* Telephones – mobile cellular: 600,000+ (2014)
* Domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines; fixed-line teledensity is about 20 per 100 persons; many areas still lack fixed-line telephone services; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 70 per 100 persons in 2011
* International: country code – 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station – 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Guyana Telephone & Telegraph (GT&T) is the main mobile phone provider   

Digicel is also present in Guyana since 2007 providing mobile service for its citizens

Radio broadcast stations

* AM 3, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998)
* FM 88.5 – Rock FM (New Amsterdam, Berbice)  
* FM 89.1 – NTN Radio (Georgetown, Demerara)  
* FM 89.3 – Radio Guyana Inc. (Essequibo re-transmission frequency)  
* FM 89.7 – Radio Guyana Inc. (Berbice re-transmission frequency) 
* FM 93.1 – Radio Guyana Inc. (Georgetown, Demerara) 
* FM 94.1 – Boom FM (Georgetown, Demerara)  
* FM 98.1 – Hot FM (Georgetown, Demerara)
* FM 100.1 – Fresh FM (Georgetown, Demerara)
* FM 104.3 – Power FM (Linden, Demerara)

Television broadcast stations

Television broadcast was officially introduced to Guyana in 1991.
* 15 (1 public station (channel 11); 14 private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)

Of which are;
L.R.T.V.S-Little Rock Television Station channel 10 (New Amsterdam, Berbice)
H.G.P-Halagala General Productions television (Beterverwagting Village, Demerara)
RCA Television charity,Esssequibo coast

Satellite television

* Satellite television services are offered by DirecTV Caribbean and E-Networks.

Internet system

* Internet country code: .gy
* Internet hosts: 6,218 (2008)
* Internet users: 270,200 (2014) 

Health 

Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 67.39 years for both males and females in 2012.  The PAHO/ WHO Global Health Report 2014 (using statistics of 2012) ranked the country as having the highest suicide rate in the world, with a mortality rate of 44.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.    According to 2011 estimates from the WHO, HIV prevalence is 1.2% of the adult population (ages 15–49).  Although Guyana's health profile falls short in comparison with many of its Caribbean neighbours, there has been remarkable progress since 1988, and the Ministry of Health is working to upgrade conditions, procedures, and facilities.

Education 

Guyana's educational system is considered to be among the best in the Caribbean, but it deteriorated significantly in the 1980s, because of inadequate funding and emigration of many highly educated citizens. Although the education system recovered in the 1990s, it still does not produce the quality of educated students necessary for Guyana to modernise its workforce. The country lacks a critical mass of expertise in many of the disciplines and activities on which it depends.

The educational system does not sufficiently focus on the training of Guyanese in science and technology, technical and vocational subjects, business management, or computer sciences. The Guyanese education system is modelled on the former British education system. Students are expected to take the NGSA (National Grade Six Assessment) for entrance into high school in grade 7. They take the CXC at the end of high school. Schools have introduced the CAPE exams which all other Caribbean countries have introduced. The A-level system, inherited from the British era, has all but disappeared and is offered only in a few schools.

Further adding to the problems of the educational system, many of the better-educated professional teachers have emigrated to other countries over the past two decades, mainly because of low pay, lack of opportunities and crime.

Culture 

Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean, and has historically been tied to the English-speaking Caribbean as part of the British Empire when it became a possession in the nineteenth century. Guyana is a founding member of the Caricom (Caribbean Community) economic bloc and also the home of the Bloc's Headquarters, the CARICOM Secretariat.

Guyana's geographical location, its sparsely populated rain-forest regions, and its substantial Amerindian population differentiate it from English-speaking Caribbean countries. Its blend of Indo-Guyanese (East Indian) and Afro-Guyanese (African) cultures gives it similarities to Trinidad and distinguishes it from other parts of the Americas. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc.

Guyana plays international cricket as a part of the West Indies cricket team, and the Guyana team plays first-class cricket against other nations of the Caribbean. In March and April 2007 Guyana co-hosted the Cricket World Cup 2007. In addition to its CARICOM membership, Guyana is a member of CONCACAF, the international football federation for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Events include Mashramani (Mash), Phagwah (Holi), and Deepavali (Diwali).

Sports 

The major sports in Guyana are cricket (Guyana is part of the West Indies as defined for international cricket purposes ), basketball, football and volleyball.  Minor sports include softball cricket (beach cricket), field hockey, netball, rounders, lawn tennis,  table tennis, boxing, squash, rugby, horse racing and a few others.

Guyana played host to international cricket matches as part of the 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC 2007). The new 15,000-seat Providence Stadium, also referred to as Guyana National Stadium, was built in time for the World Cup and was ready for the beginning of play on 28 March. At the first international game of CWC 2007 at the stadium, Lasith Malinga of the Sri Lankan team took four wickets in four consecutive deliveries. 

For international football purposes, Guyana is part of CONCACAF. The highest league in their club system is the GFF National Super League.

Guyana also has five courses for horse racing.
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