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Location
South America, northeast coast.
Time
GMT- 4.
Area
214,969 sq km (83,000 sq miles).
Population
751,000 (UN estimate 2006).
Population Density
3.6 per sq km.
Capital
Georgetown. Population: 250,000 (2005 estimate).
Geography
Guyana lies in the northeast of South America, bordered by Venezuela to the west, Surinam to the southeast and Brazil to the south. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The word ‘Guiana’ (the original Amerindian spelling) means ‘land of many waters’ and the name was well chosen, for there are over 1,600km (965 miles) of navigable rivers in the country. The interior is either high savannah uplands (such as those along the Venezuelan border, called the Rupununi, and the Kanuku Mountains in the far southwest), or thick, hilly jungle and forest, which occupy over 83% of the country’s area. The narrow coastal belt contains the vast majority of the population, and produces the major cash crop, sugar, and the major subsistence crop, rice. The country has 322km (206 miles) of coastline. More than 25% of the population lives in or near Georgetown.
Government
Republic.
Head of State
President Bharrat Jagdeo since 1999.
Head of Government
Prime Minister Samuel A Hinds since 1997.
Recent History
President Bharrat Jagdeo won a five-year term in the August 2006 general elections. His Indo-Guyanese Progressive People's Party won more than 54% of the vote.
Language
English is the official language, but Creole, Hindi, Urdu and Amerindian dialects are also spoken.
Religion
50% Christian, 33% Hindu, less than 10% Muslim.
Electricity
110 and 220 volts AC, 60Hz.
Social Conventions
Hospitality is important to the Guyanese and it is quite common for the visitor to be invited to their homes. Informal wear is widely acceptable, but men should avoid wearing shorts.
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