COUNTRY NAME: conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
                                    conventional short form: Guyana
                                    former: British Guiana

CAPITAL: Georgetown

POPULATION: 765,283

ETHNIC GROUPS: East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%

RELIGION: Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%

LANGUAGES: English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu

CLIMATE: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Agriculture:  products:  sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp

Industries:  bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining

Export Commodities:  sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber

Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gy.html

GEOGRAPHY: The Guyanese landscape can be roughly divided into three regions: a narrow, marshy plain along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, a white sand belt more inland containing rainforests and most of Guyana's mineral deposits, and finally the larger interior highlands consisting mostly of savannas and mountains, the highest being Mount Roraima at 2,835 m. Major rivers include the Essequibo, the Demerara, the Corentyne and the Berbice. The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, the second from mid-November to mid-January.

Culture: The Culture of the South American nation, Guyana, is very similar to that of the English speaking Caribbean. It is so similar that Guyana is included and accepted as a Caribbean Nation. Only its geographical location separates it from the rest of the English speaking Caribbean. Guyana shares similar interests with these islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc.

Emigration has been a large and persistent problem in Guyana. Since independence, as many as 10,000 Guyanese would leave and settle permanently in the United States alone every single year (and this doesn't take into account departures for Canada or Britain), and demand to emigrate remains very high. Many in the government worry that the country may become depopulated, but few concrete steps have been taken to stem the outflow.