Before the arrival of Europeans, the region was inhabited by both Carib and Arawak tribes, who named it Guiana, which means 'Land of many waters'. The Dutch settled in Guyana in the late 16th century, but their control ended when the British became the de facto rulers in 1796. In 1815, the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to Great Britain at the Congress of Vienna and, in 1831, were consolidated as British Guiana. Following the abolition of slavery in 1834, thousands of indentured labourers were brought to Guyana to replace the slaves on the sugarcane plantations, primarily from India but also from Portugal (Madeira), Cape Verde and China. The British stopped the practice in 1917. Many of the Afro-Guyanese former slaves moved to the towns and became the majority urban population, whereas the Indo-Guyanese remained predominantly rural. The small but growing Amerindian population lives mostly in the country's interior.Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006.

Flag

Coat of Arms

• A banner that proudly displays the national motto ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION, ONE DESTINY.
  
• An Amerindian head-dress, which symbolizes the indigenous people of the country.
  
• Two diamonds at the sides of the head-dress representing the mining industry.
  
• Two jaguars holding a pick axe (symbolizing mining), a sugar cane and a stalk of rice (symbolizing Guyana's sugar and rice industries)
  
• A shield decorated with the National Flower (Victoria Regia Lily), three blue wavy lines representing the waters of Guyana and the National Bird (Canje Pheasant).
  
• A helmet (monarchial insignia)

Download Anthem

Lyrics: A.L. Lucker Music: R.C.G. Potter

Dear land of Guyana, of rivers and plains,
Made rich by the sunshine and lush by the rains,
Set gem like and fair between mountains and sea,
Your children salute you, dear land of the free.

Green land of Guyana, our heroes of yore,
Both bondsmen and free, laid their bones on your shore;
This soil so they hallowed, and from them are we,
All sons of one mother, Guyana the free.

Great land of Guyana, diverse though our strains,
We are born of their sacrifice, heirs of their pains,
And ours is the glory their eyes did not see,
One land of six peoples, united and free.

Dear land of Guyana, to you will we give
Our homage, our service, each day that we live;
God guard you, great Mother, and make us to be
More worthy our heritage - land of the free.

Words by Cleveland W. Hamilton Music by Frank Daniels

From Pakaraima’s peaks of pow’r
To Courentyne’s lush sands,
Her children pledge each faithful hour
To guard Guyana’s lands.
To foil the shock of rude invader
Who’d violate her earth,
To cherish and defend forever
The State that gave them birth.

We’ll forge a nation’s might soul
Construct a nation’s frame;
Freedom our everlasting goal,
Courage and truth our aim,
Unyielding in our quest for peace
Like ancient heroes brave,
To strive and strive and never cease
With Strength beyond the slave.

Guyana, climb the glorious perch
To fame, prosperity;
Join in the universal search
For world-wide comity.
Your people what soe’er their breed
Their hue or quality,
With one firm never changing creed
The nation’s unity.

National Flower

Victoria Water Lily (Victoria regia)

The Victoria Regia, a water lily, was discovered by Robert Schomburgk, a German Botanist in 1837, while leading an expedition into the interior of what was then British Guiana. In its native habitat of tropical America, the plant is perennial. It grows in 4 to 6 feet of water, the base of the stems being situated in soft mud. From each plant there are seldom more than 4 or 5 leaves. The largest flowers can measure 10 inches to one foot in diameter. When first open, they are white with a sweet smell rather like a ripe fruit; by the second day they are fully expanded and a deeper pink; by the third day, they start to wither.

One of the other national symbols chosen for Guyana is a bird - the Hoatzin or Canje Pheasant. The adult Hoatzin is about 22 inches long from beak to tail. Its color is reddish-brown streaked with green. The under parts are pale brown. The feathers on its shoulder and sides are edged with creamy-white. There is a crest of very long feathers on its head which gives the bird an almost majestic look. The Hoatzin has a very short and very thick beak, and the skin around the crimson eye is of a pale blue color.This bird can be found throughout the year in areas along the banks of the Berbice River and its tributary, the Canje Creek, and to some extent, on the Abary, Mahaicony and Mahaica Rivers. It feeds on the leaves of aquatic vegetation. The nesting period for the Hoatzin, commonly known as the Canje Pheasant, is usually from April to September.

National Bird

Canje Pheasant or Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin)

The hoatzin is a very primitive looking bird that bears a close resemblance to some of the earliest bird fossils; thus, Guyana's national bird is believed have evolved from dinosaurs. Its scientific name, Opisthocomus hoatzin, means "pheasant with a crest down its back." This bird has a short fat body, stout legs and feet, a long broad tail, long scruffy neck, and a tiny head capped by a crest of spiky feathers. The hoatzin is also characterized by its chestnut-brown feathers, bright blue face and red eyes, as well as a strong musky odour-its natural defence against predators.

The hoatzin is definitely a distinctive bird. It hardly ever flies, and when it does fly it travels only short distances. It is a folivore, i.e., it eats leaves. Finally, the baby hoatzin has the ability to swim in order to avoid danger. This skillis, however, lost in adulthood. The hoatzin can be found along the banks of the Berbice river and its tributaries.

National Holidays

Visit Our Calendar

Geography Overview:

Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate, 2000-2006*, male

-

Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate, 2000-2006*, female

-

Number per 100 population 2005: phones

52

Number per 100 population 2005: Internet users

21

Primary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, gross, male

133

Primary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, gross, female

131

Primary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, net, male

-

Primary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, net, female

-

Primary school attendance ratio (2000-2006*) ratio, net, male

96

Primary school attendance ratio (2000-2006*) ratio, net, female

96

% of primary school entrants reaching grade 5 2000-2006*, adMinister data

64

% of primary school entrants reaching grade 5 2000-2006*, survey data

97

Secondary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, gross, male

101

Secondary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, gross, female

103

Secondary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, net, male

-

Secondary school enrolment ratio 2000-2006*, net, female

-

Secondary school attendance ratio (2000-2006*), net, male

66

Secondary school attendance ratio (2000-2006*), net, female

73

Guyanese politics has on occasion been turbulent. The first modern political party in Guyana was the People's Progressive Party (PPP), established on 1 January 1950 with Forbes Burnham, a British-educated Afro-Guyanese, as Chairman; Dr Cheddi Jagan, a US-educated Indo-Guyanese as second vice chairman; and his American-born wife, Janet Jagan, as Secretary General. In 1955 the PPP split and Burnham founded what eventually became the People's National Congress (PNC). Cheddi Jagan's PPP won the elections in 1957 and 1961 and he became British Guiana's first premier. At a constitutional conference in London in 1965, the UK Government agreed to grant independence to the colony but only after another election in which proportional representation would be introduced for the first time. Forbes Burnham became Prime Minister.

Guyana achieved independence in May 1966, and became a republic on 23 February 1970. From December 1964 until his death in August 1985, Forbes Burnham ruled Guyana in an increasingly autocratic manner, first as Premier, then as Prime Minister and later, after the adoption of a new constitution in 1980, as Executive President. During that time, elections were viewed in Guyana and abroad as fraudulent. Human rights and civil liberties were suppressed, and 2 major political assassinations occurred.

Following Burnham's death in 1985, Prime Minister (Hugh) Desmond Hoyte acceded to the Presidency and was formally elected in the December 1985 national elections. Hoyte gradually reversed Burnham's policies, moving from state socialism and one-party control to a market economy and unrestricted freedom of the press and assembly. On 5 October 1992 a new National Assembly and regional councils were elected in the first Guyanese election since 1964 to be internationally recognised as free and fair. Cheddi Jagan was elected and sworn in as President on 9 October 1992. When President Jagan died in March 1997, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds replaced him in accordance with constitutional provisions. However, President Jagan's widow, Janet Jagan, was elected President at elections in December 1997. She resigned in August 1999 due to ill health and was succeeded by Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo, who had been named Prime Minister a day earlier. At 35, Jagdeo became the youngest elected Head of State in the world.

National elections were held on 19 March 2001. Incumbent President Jagdeo won re-election with a voter turnout of over 90%. The latest elections were held on 28 August 2006. President Jagdeo was once again re-elected with an increased majority, although the voter turnout was much lower at 68%. The PPP obtained 36 seats, and the PNC22. A new political party, the Alliance for Change (AFC), led by 2 disaffected politicians (one Indo-Guyanese and one Afro-Guyanese) from the PPP and PNC, won 5 seats, and became the strongest third party in Guyana since 1964. Two other smaller parties won a seat each. The elections attracted a good deal of international attention with election observers being sent from several international agencies including the UK. Unlike the 2001 elections, when there was serious post-election violence, the 2006 elections passed off peacefully. In remarks prior to, and following, the election President Jagdeo promised to bring about Constitutional change and to foster an enhanced framework of political cooperation between parliamentary parties. The next elections must be held by 28 December 2011.