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Guyana: An Overview


Located on the north coast of South America, English-
speaking Guyana has characteristics of a Caribbean nation
because of its British colonial heritage (the country
achieved independence from Britain in 1966). Guyana
participates in Caribbean regional organizations and
forums, and its capital of Georgetown serves as
headquarters for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a
regional integration organization.

Guyana currently is facing two enormous challenges-a
political crisis concerning the conduct of the March 2,
2020, elections, and a public health threat due to the
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

* Election observer groups, U.S. officials, and some
   Members of Congress have expressed concern about
   discrepancies and allegations of electoral fraud. After
   legal challenges, a recount began on May 6, 2020.

* With regard to COVID-19, as of May 21, 2020, Guyana
   reported 10 deaths and 125 confirmed cases. The
   economic impact of COVID-19 on Guyana will not be
   as severe as in other Caribbean countries because of
   Guyana's recently begun offshore oil production.

                Guyana at a Glance
 Population: 785,000 (2019, IMF est.)
 Ethnic Groups: Indo-Guyanese, or those of East Indian
 heritage, almost 40%; Afro-Guyanese, almost 30%; mixed,
 20%; Amerindian, almost I1% (2012, CIA est.)
 Area: 83,000 square miles, about the size of Idaho
 GDP: $4.1 billion (2019, current prices, IMF est.)
 Real GDP Growth: 4.7% (2019 est.); 53% (2020 est.); 6.3%
 (202 lest.) (constant prices, IMF)
 Per Capita GDP: $5,252 (2019, current prices, IMF est.)
 Life Expectancy: 69.8 years (2018, WB)
 Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
 Economic Outlook Database, Oct. 2019 and April 2020;
 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), World Factbook; World
 Bank (WB), World Development Indicators.



 Guyana has a hybrid republican/parliamentary form of
 government. The presidential candidate of the party or
 coalition receiving the most votes becomes president, and
 the president appoints the prime minister.

 President David Granger leads a coalition that narrowly
 won in 2015, with 33 of 65 seats in the unicameral National
Assembly. The coalition consists of Granger's A
Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for


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Change (AFC), led by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
The largest party in the APNU is the People's National
Congress Reform (PNCR), which dominated the political
system from independence until the early 1990s; the party
traditionally has had an Afro-Guyanese base of support. In
contrast, the AFC identifies as a multiracial party.

Figure I. Map of Guyana
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GU(,Y ANA


50~ 10 (K. s


Source: CRS.

The opposition People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C),
led by former President Bharrat Jagdeo (1999-2011), has 32
seats in the National Assembly. Traditionally supported by
Indo-Guyanese, the PPP/C governed Guyana from 1992
until its defeat in the 2015 elections.


Originally due by September 2020, Guyana held early
national elections on March 2, 2020, because the ruling
APNU/AFC coalition lost a no-confidence motion in
December 2018 by a single vote. A legal challenge to the
motion ensued and made its way to the Caribbean Court of
Justice, which ruled in June 2019 that the vote was valid.

In the March 2, 2020, election, President Granger (running
for reelection) was the presidential candidate of the
APNU/AFC coalition, with AFC Member of Parliament
and Minister of Security Khemraj Ramjattan the candidate
for prime minister. The PPP/C selected Irfan Ali as its
presidential candidate. Ali currently serves as shadow
finance minister and previously served as housing minister.


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Updated May 21, 2020


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