BRITISH GUYANA "The Land of Many Waters" officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

"ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION, ONE DESTINY"

localization

Modern Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname , to the south and southwest by Brazil , to the west by Venezuela , and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean .

the independence of British Guiana

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 .

Environment and biodiversity

More than 80% of Guyana is still covered by forests, ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rain forests. Guyana has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Guyana, with 1,168 vertebrate species, 1,600 bird species, boasts one of the richest mammalian fauna assemblages of any comparably sized area in the world.

Economy

The main economic activities in Guyana are agriculture (production of rice and Demerara sugar ), bauxite mining, gold mining, timber, shrimp fishing and minerals, 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

Major trading partners

Canada, US, UK, Portugal, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Cuba, Singapore, Japan , Brazil, Suriname (2009

Guyanas rivers
The four longest rivers are the Essequibo at 1,010 kilometres (628 mi) long, the Courantyne River at 724 kilometres (450 mi), theBerbice at 595 kilometres (370 mi), and the Demerara at 346 kilometres (215 mi).

Guyanas mountains
Some of Guyana's highest mountains are Mount Ayanganna (2,042 metres / 6,699 feet), Monte Cabura (1,465 metres / 4,806 feet) and Mount Roraima (2,810 metres / 9,219 feet the highest mountain in Guyana) on the BrazilGuyana-Venezuela tripoint border, part of the Pakaraima range.

Unemployment, 9.1% (2008), Labour force , 418,000 (2001 estimate)

Cost of living
The cost of living in Guyana is high. This is because most of the items used in daily life are imported with high transportation costs involved. Monopoly in some business sectors also causes higher profit booking and further raising of prices. For example, approximate prices (as of January, 2010) of gasoline (petrol) is US$ 5 per gallon, and electricity prices are close to US$ 0.33 per unit A domestic gas bottle (or gas cylinder) is slightly over US$ 20. Rent for average family accommodation may exceed US$ 100 per month in safe urban locations,but most people have their own homes and do not rent, and personal income tax, which is 33.33% (one third) of total taxable income makes the cost of living higher. An employee's salary is normally paid in Guyanese dollars (1 US Dollar = 200 Guyanese Dollars approx.) and income tax is deducted by the employer.

guyanas climate
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 midNovember to mid-January.

Guyanas people
The present population of Guyana is racially and ethnically heterogeneous, composed chiefly of the descendants of immigrants who came to the country as either enslaved or indentured labourers respectively, from Africa and India. The population therefore is made up of groups with ethnic backgrounds from India, Africa, Europe, China, with Aboriginal. These groups of diverse nationality backgrounds have been fused together by a common language, i.e.,English and Creole. There has been racial tension between the majority Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese .

Languages of guyana

English is the official language of Guyana and used in its schools. In addition, Cariban languages (Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Arawak andMacushi) are spoken by a small minority, while Guyanese Creole (an English-based creole with African and/or East Indian syntax whose grammar is not standardised.) is widely spoken.

religion
Data from a 2002 census on religious affiliation indicates that approximately 57% of the population are Christian (of those, 17% arePentecostal, 8% are Roman Catholic, 7% are Anglican, 5% are Seventh-day Adventist, and 20% belong to other Christian denominations). Approximately 28% are Hindu, 9% are Muslim (mostly Sunni), and members of the Bah' Faith and Rastafarianismmake up most of the remaining 2%. An estimated 4% of the population does not profess any religion.[

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

military
The military of Guyana consists of theGuyana Defence Force (GDF), which includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps.

transport
here are a total of 116 miles (187 km) of railway, all dedicated to ore transport. There are 4,952 miles (7,970 km) of highway, of which 367 miles (590 km) are paved. Navigable waterways extend to 669 miles (1,077 km), including the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers. There are ports at Georgetown, Port Kaituma, and New Amsterdam. There is 1 international airport (Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri); 1 regional airport (Ogle Airport); and about 90 airstrips, 9 of which have paved runways. Guyana andSuriname are the only two countries in South America which drive on the left.

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 mid term review is now due to examine the success of the TAP.

Satellite Television Satellite television services are offered by DirecTV Caribbean. Internet system Internet country code: .gy Internet hosts: 6,218 (2008)[citation needed] Internet users: 225,129 (2010)

Delivery service

Level I: Local Health Posts (166 in total) that provide preventive and simple curative care for common diseases and attempt to promote proper health practices. Community health workers staff them. Level II: Health Centres (109 in total) that provide preventive and rehabilitative care and promotion activities. These are ideally staffed with a medical extension worker or public health nurse, along with a nursing assistant, a dental nurse and a midwife. Level III: Nineteen District Hospitals (with 473 beds) that provide basic in-patient and outpatient care (although more the latter than the former) and selected diagnostic services. They are also meant to be equipped to provide simple radiological and laboratory services, and to be capable of gynecology, providing preventive and curative dental care. They are designed to serve geographical areas with populations of 10,000 or more.

Delivery service

Level IV: Four Regional Hospitals (with 620 beds) that provide emergency services, routine surgery and obstetrical and gynecological care, dental services, diagnostic services and specialist services in general medicine and pediatrics. They are designed to include the necessary support for this level of medical service in terms of laboratory and X-ray facilities, pharmacies and dietetic expertise. These hospitals are located in Regions 2, 3, 6 and 10. Level V: The National Referral Hospital (937 beds) in Georgetown that provides a wider range of diagnostic and specialist services, on both an in-patient and out-patient basis; the Psychiatric Hospital in Canje; and the Geriatric Hospital in Georgetown. There is also one childrens rehabilitation centre.

EDUCATION
Guyana's educational system is considered to be among the best in the Caribbean, but it significantly deteriorated in the 1980s because of the emigration of highly educated citizens and the lack of appropriate funding. Although the education system has recovered somewhat 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, nor computer sciences. The Guyanese education system is modeled after the former British education system. Students are expected to write NGSA[National Grade Six Assessment] for entrance into High School in grade 7. They write CXC at the end of high school. Recently they have introduced the CAPE exams which all other Caribbean countries have introduced. The Alevel system left over from the British era has all but disappeared and is offered only in a few schools.

Guyana was inhabited by Arawak and Carib tribes of Native Americans. 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). The British took control in the late 18th century, and Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single colony known as British Guyana.