Updated July 13August 12, 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 became
independent in 1966). Guyana participates in Caribbean
regional organizations, and its capital 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
Current President Ali defeated incumbent President David
Granger (elected in 2015) who led a coalition consisting 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
APNU is the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR),
which dominated the political system until the early 1990s;
the party traditionally has had an Afro-Guyanese base of
support. The 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 Change (AFC). In the newly elected
National Assembly, Ali’s PPP/C took a majority of 33
seats, the APNU/AFC coalition won 31 seats, and a smaller
party won the remaining seat. Ali appointed retired military
leader Mark Phillips as prime minister and former President
Bharrat Jagdeo (1999-2011) as vice president. Some
observers contend that Jagdeo, who was constitutionally
prohibited from seeking a third term, could play a key role
in policy decisions.
Traditionally supported by Indo-Guyanese, the PPP/C
governed Guyana from 1992 until its defeat in the 2015
elections. The largest party in the opposition APNU is the
People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which
dominated the political system from independence until
1992; the party traditionally has had an Afro-Guyanese base
of support. The AFC identifies as a multiracial party.
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)
Source: Congressional Research Service.
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
In 2020, Guyana has faced two major 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.
Guyana 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 297After five months of discord between Guyana’s two
major political parties, the country’s political crisis was
resolved on August 2, and opposition candidate
Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive
Party/Civic (PPP/C) was sworn in as president.
With regard to COVID-19, as of August 12, Guyana
reported 22 deaths and 602 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
and Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), World Factbook; World Bank (WB), World
Development Indicators.
March 2020 Elections
and Aftermath. Originally due by
September 2020, Guyana held national
elections on March
2, 2020, because the rulingPresident Granger’s APNU/AFC coalition
lost a no-confidence motion in December 2018. A legal
challenge to the motion delayed elections until after the
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ, Guyana’s highest court of
appeals) ruled in June 2019 that it was valid. Running for
reelection, Granger is the presidential candidate of the
APNU/AFC coalition, and the PPP/C’s candidate is Irfaan
Ali, who previously served as housing minister.
Final election results have not been released because of
fraud allegations.
Final election results were not issued until August 2, 2020,
because of fraud allegations and numerous legal challenges.
On March 6, several international election
observer observer
missions—from the Organization of American
States, the
Carter Center, the European Union (EU), and the
Commonwealth—maintained that the tabulation of results
was interrupted and incomplete. Legal challenges delayed a
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Guyana: An Overview
recount, but itone was finally held between May 6 and June 8,
8, overseen by a three-member CARICOM team. Preliminary
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Guyana: An Overview
Preliminary recount results showed the opposition PPP/C secured
secured enough votes to win. 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.
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 of numerous irregularities.
Multiple legal challenges by supporters of the Granger
government further delayed the release of final election
results. Ultimately, on July 20, 2020, Guyana’s acting chief
justice ruled that the declaration of final results must be
based on the recount process, and on July 30, Guyana’s
Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed an appeal against
that ruling. This led Guyana’s CEO to submit a report to the
Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) based on the
recount, followed by GECOM’s Chairwoman Claudette
Singh declaring Ali the winner.
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 economy. ExxonMobil leads a consortium
that includes Hess and China National Offshore 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) 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% and for 2020, despite the recent decline
in world oil prices and the economic consequences of the
COVID-19 pandemic, is forecasting 53% growth. Guyana’s
development of its oil resources has raised concerns about
corruption. In 2019, Guyana’s National Assembly approved
legislation providing a framework for the establishment of a
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 responsibility framework to avoid fiscal deficits;
promoting effective, transparent management of the oil
wealth; and strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
U.S.-Guyana Relations
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
The ambassadors subsequently expressed support for the
recount and criticized the delay in issuing election results.
Some Members of Congress also expressed strong support
for the recount process (e.g., see H.Con.Res. 101).
As regional and international pressure was growing on
Guyana to resolve its election crisis, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, on July 15, 2020, announced visa
restrictions on individuals involved in undermining
democracy in Guyana. Visa restrictions against additional
Guyanese officials were announced in late July.
On August 2, the U.S., UK, Canadian, and EU ambassadors
issued a joint statement that congratulated President Ali,
thanked President Granger for accepting the results, and
looked forward to seeing the “government reach across
political divisions to unite Guyanese of all ethnicities, races,
and regions, around meaningful progress on constitutional
reform and reconciliation.”
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 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 and since 2009 to help combat the drug trade
and improve citizen security through the 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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