A Profile of Guyana

History - Geography - Climate - Economy

Archaeological studies have shown that indigenous peoples have been living in what is now Guyana for approximately 11,000 years, and it is believed that the hunter-gatherers arrived via a land bridge connecting the Americas from Asia. European explorers first came to the area in the late 15th century, but interest wasn’t truly shown in the wild and untamed Guianas for nearly another 100 years. In 1595 Sir Walter Raleigh explored the area in an effort to find El Dorado, the mythical lost city of gold. Convinced he had found the source, Raleigh returned to Europe and wrote a book called, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana, which intrigued many and encouraged more exploration in the area.

While many more explorers came, it was the Dutch who first settled along the Essequibo River. Through much of the 16th century the settlers colonized and built sugar plantations along the coast. The Dutch immigrants were likely enjoying their successes until 1665 when the second Anglo-Dutch war broke out and British armies attacked the Dutch colonies. The Dutch held firm, but in 1689, 1708 and 1712 the French decided to take their turns at attacking the Dutch settlements.

The Dutch were able to recover and throughout much of the 18th century, with labour provided by thousands of African slaves, were able to expand their sugar, coffee, and cotton estates. But their plantations soon attracted the attention of the British, who in 1781 captured the Dutch colonies. For the next two decades control of the area frequently changed hands between the British, French and Dutch, until 1803 when the British finally conquered for the last time.

The British eventually outlawed slavery, but after shortage of labour was realized they began importing indentured labourers from countries including Germany, Portugal, China and India. With the new populations also came more emphasis on new crops, including rice.

In 1831, the colonies were named "British Guiana" and remained as such until 1966 when the British granted independence and the colony became the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Geography

Guyana covers an area of 83,000 square miles (214,969km²) on South America’s northeastern coast. The Atlantic Ocean runs along Guyana’s northern edge for 270 miles, while Suriname borders to the east, Brazil to the south and southwest and Venezuela to the west.

Guyana is composed of three distinct geographical zones: the coastal belt, the forested and mountainous interior and the savannahs.

While the coastal belt varies in width from 10 to 40 miles and accounts for only 5% of Guyana’s total landmass, it’s where 90% of the country’s population lives. Much of the coastal belt, which actually lies several feet below sea level at high tide, has been reclaimed through a series of sea walls, dams and kokers, which offer a degree of protection to the highly cultivated lands.

Moving south from the coast, the landscape rises to a series of mountain ranges and high plateaus covered in dense tropical rainforests. As this area is rich in minerals including gold, diamonds and bauxite, it’s where much of Guyana’s mining takes place.

In southwestern Guyana are the Rupununi savannahs, and this area changes dramatically with the seasons. In the wet season (May-August) they become mostly floodlands while in the dry season they experience drought conditions.

Guyana has numerous large rivers and waterways, but three stand out in terms of size and importance. The Essequibo River (South America’s third largest) runs the entire length of the country and is 20-miles wide where it spills into the Atlantic just west of Georgetown. The Demerara River creates the western border of the capital city and is the site of the main port and the Berbice River is to the east of Georgetown and runs deep into the south of Guyana.

Climate

The climate in Guyana is equatorial with an average temperature of 27.5°C and average annual rainfall of 91 inches. The coastal area is cooled by sea breezes and has a temperature range from 18°C - 34°C. The two wet seasons are from mid-November to mid-January and again from May to August.

In the interior the average temperature ranges from 18°C - 40°C with a wet season from May to September and another period of short rains in December. The rest of the year is generally dry. Average rainfall in the interior is roughly 70 inches per year.

Economy

The economy of Guyana still relies heavily on sugar, rice, bauxite and gold, which account for roughly 70% of export earnings. Timber, shrimp, fish, diamonds, rum and other agriculture products account for most of the remaining exports. While this has been the case for generations in Guyana, it seems the tides are turning. The sugar and rice markets are weakening and the marine-based fish and shrimp industries are declining. At the same time timber exports are rising and the government is pushing to diversify Guyana’s agricultural offerings.

The current government views foreign investment as a way of creating jobs, enhancing technical capabilities and creating more exportable goods. One technique they are employing has been to promote the benefits of a market-led strategy.

Through its natural resources, Guyana has tremendous potential to fill international market demands in several sectors including agriculture, timber and seafood. Recent projects include developing aquaculture in Guyana and producing non-traditional agriculture products for exports, such as pineapple, hot peppers, plantains, butternut squash, pumpkins and a host of other products that thrive in Guyana fertile lands.