Updated June 19July 13, 2020
Guyana: An Overview
Located on the north coast of South America, Englishspeaking Guyana has characteristics of a Caribbean nation
because of its British colonial heritage (the country
achieved independence from Britain became
independent 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.
Figure 1. Map of Guyana
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
Change (AFC), with its Member of Parliament Moses
Nagamootoo serving as prime minister. The largest party in
the APNU is the People’s National Congress Reform
(PNCR),
which dominated the political system until the
early 1990s;
the party traditionally has had an AfroGuyaneseAfro-Guyanese base of
support. In contrast, theThe AFC identifies as
a multiracial party.
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.
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 11% (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%
(2021est.) (constant prices, IMF)
Per Capita GDP: $5,252 (2019, current prices, IMF est.)
Life Expectancy: 69.8 years (2018, WB)
Source: Congressional Research Service.
Guyana currently is facing two enormousmajor 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 (see, for example, H.Con.Res.
101) have expressed concern about allegations of
electoral fraud and support the recent electoral recount.
With regard to COVID-19, as of June 19, 2020, Guyana
reported 12 deaths and 183Guyana is facing increasing international pressure to
finalize results from its March elections. U.S. officials
and some Members of Congress have expressed support
for the recount completed in June (see H.Con.Res. 101).
With regard to COVID-19, as of July 13, 2020, Guyana
reported 17 deaths and 297 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.
Political Environment
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.
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.
March 2020 Elections
Originally due by September 2020, Guyana held early
national 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 delayed elections until the after the
Caribbean Court of
Justice Justice (CCJ, Guyana’s highest court of
appeals) ruled in June 2019 that it was valid.) President
Granger (running for reelection) Running for
reelection, Granger is 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’s candidate,
Irfaan Ali, currently serves as shadow finance minister and
APNU/AFC coalition, and the PPP/C’s candidate is Irfaan
Ali, who previously served as housing minister.
Final election results were not have not been released because of fraud
fraud allegations. On March 6, several international election
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Guyana: An Overview
observer missions—from the Organization of American
States (OAS), the Carter Center, the European Union (EU),
and the
Commonwealth—maintained that the tabulation of
results results
was interrupted and incomplete and called for
election officials to resume the transparent tabulation of
votes. Legal challenges delayed the recount, but it was
. Legal challenges delayed a
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Guyana: An Overview
recount, but it was finally held between May 6 and June 8. It was ,
overseen by
a three-member CARICOM team.
Preliminary Preliminary
recount results showed the opposition PPP/C
securing secured
enough votes to win the election. Although
. The CARICOM team concluded that
the recount, despite some irregularities, reflected the “will
of the voters,” whereas Guyana’s chief election officer
(CEO) maintained that the
vote was not free or fair because of numerous irregularities,
the CARICOM team concluded that the recount results,
despite some irregularities, were “completely acceptable”
and reflected the “will of the voters.” On June 16, the
chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission directed
the CEO to prepare a final report on the results of the
elections by June 18, but another legal challenge ensued,
further delaying the final declaration of election
of numerous irregularities.
Further hurdles have delayed the release of final election
results. On June 16, the chairperson of the Guyana
Elections Commission (GECOM) directed the CEO to
prepare a final election report based on the recount, but a
legal challenge ensued. On June 22, Guyana’s Court of
Appeal ruled that the winner could be declared only on the
basis of “more valid votes cast.” This led the CEO to
submit a report to GECOM on June 23 removing more than
115,000 votes cast, which would result in an APNU/AFC
victory. A subsequent legal challenge to the CCJ led to a
July 8 decision invalidating the Court of Appeal ruling and
the CEO’s June 23 report. On July 11, the CEO submitted
another report to GECOM showing a victory for the ruling
coalition, contrary to the recount results.
Oil Changes Guyana’s Economic Outlook
Guyana’s economy traditionally has been based on
agriculture (rice and sugar) and mining (gold and bauxite),
but the discovery of significant amounts of offshore oil is
bolstering the country’s economy. ExxonMobil leads a
consortium consortium
that includes Hess and China National Offshore
Oil Oil
Corporation and has been involved in oil and gas
exploration in Guyana since 2008. Since 2015, the
consortium has identified 16 commercially viable
discoveries in the Stabroek Block, about 120 miles
offshore. Production began in December 2019 and is soon
expected to reach 120,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) within
several months and and
more than 750,000 b/d by 2026.
Recoverable oil is
estimated at more than 8 billion barrels.
The discovery of offshore oil vastly changes the economic
development prospects of Guyana, which used to be one of
the hemisphere’s poorest countries. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that economic growth in
2019 reached 4.7%. For and for 2020, despite the recent decline in
in world oil prices and the economic consequences of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF is forecasting 53%
economic growth. Guyana’s
development of its oil
resources has raised concerns about
corruption. In 2019,
Guyana’s National Assembly approved legislation
legislation providing a framework for the establishment of a Natural
Natural Resource Fund for managing the country’s oil
wealth. The
IMF welcomed the action but called for
Guyana to take
additional steps, including establishing a fiscal
fiscal responsibility framework to avoid fiscal deficits; promoting
promoting effective, transparent management of the oil
wealth; and
strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
U.S.-Guyana Relations
In the aftermath of the March 2, 2020, elections, U.S.
Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch joined the heads of mission
from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the EU to issue a
March 6 joint statement expressing “deep concern over
credible allegations of electoral fraud.” The ambassadors
called on President Granger to avoid a transition of
government, which they maintained would be
“unconstitutional” because the tabulation process “lacked
credibility and transparency.” In a June 5 statement, the
ambassadors commended President Granger and opposition
leader Jagdeo “for their support of the recount and their
clear commitment to abide by the results.” On June 10,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “we look forward to a
quick and credible conclusion to the vote recount.”
U.S. relations with Guyana have improved since the early
1990s, when the government moved away from one-party
domination of the political system and embraced a market
economy and free and fair elections. According to the State
Department, U.S. policy centers on democracy promotion
and civil society development, economic growth, and the
promotion of security and stability. Bilateral relations are
characterized by close security cooperation through the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and expanding
trade and investment in the energy sector.U.S. relations with Guyana improved in the early 1990s
when the government moved away from one-party
domination of the political system and embraced a market
economy and free and fair elections.
After the March 2020 elections, U.S. Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch joined the heads of mission from Canada, the
United Kingdom, and the EU to issue a March 6 joint
statement expressing “deep concern over credible
allegations of electoral fraud.” The ambassadors called on
President Granger to avoid a transition of government,
maintaining it would be “unconstitutional” because the
tabulation process “lacked credibility and transparency.”
On June 5, the ambassadors commended Granger and
opposition leader Jagdeo for supporting the recount and
their commitment to abide by its results. In a June 24
statement, the ambassadors said that “election results are
long overdue” and expected GECOM to meet “its
constitutional duty” to issue an electoral declaration on the
basis of the recount “to ensure the democratic choice of the
people is fulfilled.” In a July 1 press briefing, Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo stated that he instructed the State
Department “to ensure those who undermine Guyana’s
democracy are held accountable.”
Trade. The United States ran a trade surplus of $540
million with Guyana in 2019, with U.S. exports valued at
$672 million, up 24% from 2018 (led by machinery and
iron/steel pipes for oil drilling) and U.S. imports valued at
$132 million (led by seafood, aluminum ores, and gold). In
1988, Guyana became a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), a preferential trade
program for Caribbean imports. In 2000, it became a
beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act
(CBTPA), a program that provides enhanced tariff
treatment for certain imports from the region, including
goods made with U.S. yarns, fabrics, and threads. CBERA
has no set expiration date; CBTPA expires in September
2020. Legislation has been introduced in both houses (H.R.
991 and S. 2473) to extend the CBTPA to September 2030.
U.S. Foreign Aid. U.S. assistance includes a small bilateral
aid program to improve the capacity of Guyana’s security
forces to police its border and provide security, as well as
larger and larger
spigots of assistance through global and regional
programs.
According to the U.S. Agency for International
Development, U.S aid to Guyana amounted to $4.7 million
in FY2018 (latest full year available), with top sectors
including HIV/AIDS and basic education and health.
Guyana has received assistance since 2004 to combat
HIV/AIDS under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief and since 2009 to help combat the drug trade and
and improve citizen security through the CBSI. Although Peace
Corps programs worldwide are suspended because of
Caribbean Basin
Security Initiative. Before the suspension of a Peace Corps
program due to COVID-19, Guyana had over 60 volunteers
working on
education, health, and environmental projects.
Among other U.S. aid spigots, the United States also has
provided almost $4.8 million in humanitarian assistance
from FY2017 to FY2020 through international
organizations for some 22,000 Venezuelan refugees and
migrants in Guyana. Most recently, the United States is
providing assistance to help respond to the COVID-19
pandemic through a portion of $2.2 million in health
funding for the Caribbean and $350,000 in humanitarian
assistance for Venezuelan refugees and host communities.
Mark P. Sullivan, Specialist in Latin American Affairs
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Guyana: An Overview
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