Population: 752,940 (est.)
- The Guyanese dollar is the official currency of Guyana.
- Christianity is the major religion in Guyana with around 90% of the population being adherents (Protestantism being the main sect).
- Guyana is the only country in South America that has English as its official language.
- The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities – sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice.
- The Guyana climate is tropical, hot and humid with two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January).
- Guyana is the only nation state of the Commonwealth of Nations on the mainland of South America.
- Guyana is the third-smallest country on the mainland of South America.
- Kaieteur Falls of Guyana are 741 feet high, around five times as high as Niagara Falls.
- Guyana became a British Colony in 1831 and was known as British Guiana.
- Guyana gained independence in 1966 and since then, has been supporting a parliamentary system.
- The country gained caught the eye of global media when Jim Jones (a religious cult leader) and his 900 supporters committed suicide in Guyana, in 1978.
- Cricket is very popular in Guyana.
Guyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America. Culturally, it is part of the Anglophone Caribbean and is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a member, has its secretariat’s headquarters in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.
Guyana was originally colonized by The Netherlands. Later, it became a British colony and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence on 26 May 1966 from the United Kingdom. On 23 February 1970, Guyana officially became a republic. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.
Guyana, a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations, is the only South American nation whose official language is English.
Historically, the region known as “Guiana” or “Guyana” comprised the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the “Land of many waters”. Historical Guyana consists of three Dutch colonies: Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. Modern Guyana is bordered by Suriname to the east; by Brazil to the south and southwest; by Venezuela to the west; and by the Atlantic Ocean to the north.