the region has an area of 17,040 km². as of the 2012 census, 39,452 people lived there. it borders the regions of essequibo islands-west demerara, demerara-mahaica and mahaica-berbice to the north, the region of east berbice-corentyne to the east, and the regions of potaro-siparuni and cuyuni-mazaruni to the west.