South America, northeast coast.

GMT-4.

214,969 sq km (83,000 sq miles).

768,000 (UN, 2005).

3.6 per sq km.

Georgetown. Population: 250,000 (2005 estimate).

Guyana lies in the northeast of South America, bordered by Venezuela to the west, Surinam to the southeast and Brazil to the south. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The word ‘Guiana’ (the original Amerindian spelling) means ‘land of many waters’ and the name was well chosen, for there are over 1600km (965 miles) of navigable rivers in the country. The interior is either high savannah uplands (such as those along the Venezuelan border, called the Rupununi, and the Kanuku Mountains in the far southwest), or thick, hilly jungle and forest, which occupy over 83 per cent of the country’s area. The narrow coastal belt contains the vast majority of the population, and produces the major cash crop, sugar, and the major subsistence crop, rice. The country has 322km (206 miles) of coastline. More than 25 per cent of the population lives in or near Georgetown.

Under the constitution, adopted in 1980, legislative power is held by the unicameral National Assembly which has 65 members. Of these, 53 are elected by national popular vote under a system of proportional representation; the other 12 are delegated by local councils. Executive power is held by the President, who leads the majority party in the Assembly. The President appoints and leads a Cabinet of Ministers responsible to parliament.

Republic. Head of State: President Bharrat Jagdeo since 1999. Head of Government: Prime Minister Samuel A Hinds since 1997. Recent history: President Bharrat Jagdeo won a five-year term in the August 2006 general elections. His Indo-Guyanese Progressive People's Party won more than 54 per cent of the vote.

English is the official language, but Creole, Hindi, Urdu and Amerindian dialects are also spoken.

50 per cent Christian, 33 per cent Hindu, less than 10 per cent Muslim.

Hospitality is important to the Guyanese and it is quite common for the visitor to be invited to their homes. Informal wear is widely acceptable, but men should avoid wearing shorts.

110 and 220 volts AC, 60Hz.