The beautiful South American country of Guyana is pristine and wild; today there are many parts of Guyana that remain untouched by human hands. Over 70% of Guyana's habitat remains unexplored. Guyana is also a country that is full of promise. Economically and socially the country is expanding rapidly. Guyana is the third smallest in South America with a total area of only 83,000 square miles. It is located just north of the equator, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, situated between Venezuela to the west and Suriname to the east. Brazil borders Guyana to the south.
Guyana has three distinct geographic regions. It has a coastal plain, a savannah in the south and green, and rolling highlands that sprawl through the rest of the country. The entire country of Guyana has a tropical climate remaining hot and humid year round cooled only occasionally by Northeastern Trade Winds.
Ameriindians who first inhabited the area of Guyana named the region "Guyana" which means "Land of many waters". This name was certainly appropriate. Guyana is filled with lush tropical rainforests and waterfalls. Over 80% of the country is rainforest habitat. Guyana has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America and it is one of a few countries with the largest numbers of endemic species in the world. Guyana is host to over 8,000 different plant species and over half of those are endemic (found nowhere else in the world). Proudly, Guyana recently established the largest community owned conservation area in the world.
Guyana was first settled not by Spaniards like most of South America but by Dutch colonists. Guyana was settled by the Dutch in 1616 but came into British possession in 1815. Guyana became a British colony in 1831 and was known as British Guyana. On May 26, 1966 Guyana gained its independence from Great Britain and has been ruled by a parliamentary system ever since. Guyana officially became a republic with the British Commonwealth in 1970. Today the official name of Guyana is the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Prime Minister Samuel A. Hinds lives and works in Georgetown, Guyana's capital city.
Guyana is much like the United States in that it is a melting pot of many cultures. Forty three percent of Guyanese consider themselves Ameriindian, while 30% are black (Afro-Ameriindian). Other ethnic groups include, Hindus, and mixed Europeans. Christians make up the biggest religious group in Guyana with 57% of residents practicing a Christian denomination. Pentecostals make up the largest Christian group unlike many other countries in South America where Roman Catholics make up the biggest Christian denomination.
Guyana is also the only English speaking country in South America. While many other South American countries have adopted English as a secondary language, Guyana is the only country that has adopted English as its primary language. Visitors to Guyana may also witness people speaking in Ameriindian dialects, Creole, Hindu dialects and Urdu. Ninety percent of Guyanese's population of 772,298 (July 2009 est.) live near the country's Atlantic coastline. Guyanese people are typically poor with many living at or below poverty level. Guyana has an extremely high literacy rate at 99%. This is higher than most countries in the world including the United States. At one time the country of Guyana spent a lot of money on its education and one of the best education systems in the Caribbean region. However; in the past 30 years as the country suffered an economic downturn education funding has decreased. But the Guyanese government is working hard to put more funding into education and into modernizing the country.
The economy of Guyana has improved in recent years and the country depends on agriculture to make up the majority of its GDP. Agriculture makes up 60% of Guyana's GDP. Guyana's main exports include: Sugar, rice, gold, bauxite, fish and timber. Commodity prices fluctuate with weather conditions and this may have negative effects on Guyana's economy since it is prone to wild weather conditions. Flash floods often occur especially in the south during the rainy season. The Dutch who settled this area built a system of dykes in the coastal region to prevent flooding because it was such a problem. Flash flooding kills numerous people each year in Guyana. Other threats to the Guyanese way of life include deficient infrastructure, deforestation, water pollution, insect borne disease, and AIDS.
Sadly, most people are familiar with Guyana only for a sad part that it played in world history. On November 18, 1978, 918 people were killed in Jonestown, Guyana and Georgetown, Guyana as Jim Jones, the leader of the Peoples Temple ordered a mass suicide and execution of cult members and United States government officials. This has left a trememdous scar on the country's tourist industry and for many years tourists avoided Guyana altogether because they viewed it as a dangerous, uncivilized country.