Portal:Guyana

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The Guyana Portal

Guyana (/ɡaɪˈɑːnə/ ^ⓘ or /ɡaɪˈænə/ ^ⓘ ghy-A(H)N-ə), officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic mainland British West Indies. Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the country's largest city. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With a land area of 214,969 km² (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. The official language of the country is English, although a large part of the population is bilingual in English and the indigenous languages. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity. The country also hosts a part of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

The region known as "the Guianas" consists of the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the "land of many waters". Nine indigenous tribes reside in Guyana: the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically dominated by the Lokono and Kalina tribes, Guyana was colonised by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana with a mostly plantation-style economy until the 1950s. It gained independence in 1966 and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British colonialism is reflected in the country's political administration, lingua franca and diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Indigenous, Chinese, Portuguese, other European, and various multiracial groups.

Guyana is the only mainland South American nation in which English is the official language. However, the majority of the population speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language, as a first language. Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean. It is part of the mainland Caribbean region maintaining strong cultural, historical, and political ties with other Caribbean countries as well as serving as the headquarters for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.

In 2017, 41% of the population of Guyana lived below the poverty line. Guyana's economy has been undergoing a transformation since the discovery of crude oil in 2015 and commercial drilling in 2019, with its economy growing by 49% in 2020, making it, by some accounts, currently the world's fastest-growing economy. As it is said to have 11 billion barrels in oil reserves, the country is set to become one of the largest per capita oil producers in the world by 2025. The discovery of over 11 billion barrels of oil reserves off the coast of Guyana since 2017 is the largest addition to global oil reserves since the 1970s. Guyana is now ranked as having the fourth-highest GDP per capita in the Americas after the United States, Canada, and The Bahamas, and has been one of the countries with the most improvement in Human Development Index ranking since 2015. According to the World Bank in 2023, very significant poverty still exists and the country faces significant risks in structurally managing its growth. (Full article...)

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The Progressive Youth Organisation of Guyana is a youth organisation in Guyana, the youth wing of the People's Progressive Party. The membership of Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) is predominantly Indo-Guyanese, like its mother party. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Guyana-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A tractor on a rice field in Guyana. (from Agriculture in Guyana)
Image 2A map of Dutch Guiana 1667–1814 CE. (from History of Guyana)
Image 3Arapaima gigas (from Agriculture in Guyana)
Image 4Political map of Venezuela in 1840, extending to the Essequibo border. (from History of Guyana)
Image 5Forbes Burnham (from History of Guyana)
Image 6Guyana's extensive river system and water cycle is important for agriculture. (from Agriculture in Guyana)
Image 7A technician at the Guyana Food and Drug Department Laboratory in Georgetown, Guyana selecting peanut samples to be tested with new equipment. (from Agriculture in Guyana)
Image 8A map created circa 1649 depicting the Guiana region. Territory claimed by Spain in red to the west, Dutch Guiana highlighted in yellow and Portuguese territory in red to the southeast. The mythical Lake Parime is also visible. (from History of Guyana)
Image 9Providence Stadium as seen from the East Bank Highway. (from Culture of Guyana)
Image 10Map of British Guiana. (from History of Guyana)
Image 11Cheddi Jagan (from History of Guyana)
Image 12Georgetown in 1823 CE. (from History of Guyana)
Image 13NASA satellite image of forest burning in Guyana (from Agriculture in Guyana)