About Guyana

This page is designed to help you understand some of the history, wildlife, peoples and culture in Guyana. To find out the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Guyana, the country was featured in the 2005 yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Country facts and figures

Guyana is the only South American country to speak English. It is also part of the Caribbean. It was originally colonized by the Netherlands and then became a British colony until it's independence in 1966.

80% of Guyana is covered by the Amazon rainforest. The name 'Guyana' comes from the native Amerindian word meaning 'land of many waters'. The population is about 740,000 and the land area is slightly smaller than the UK. There are 9 indigenous tribes living in Guyana that make up approximately 9.1% of the population. The rest of the population is: 43.5% East Indian, 30.2% African (Black), 16.7% mixed and 0.5% others.

The official language is English and the national language is Guyanese Creole. Due to the small population, it is now the 8th LEAST populated country in the world. The capital, Georgetown has over 400,000 residents leaving just 340,000 in the rest of Guyana.

Guyana has vast areas of jungle that stretches between Suriname to Venezuela and down to Brazil. The coastal areas are generally flat but the interior and borders are mountainous. The tallest mountain in Guyana is Mount Roraima on the Guyana-Brazil-Venezuela border reaching 9219 feet high.

It is said that Mount Roraima was the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book 'The Lost World'.

Mount Roraima

The Rain forest and wildlife

Guyana has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almost inaccessible by humans. In 2008, the BBC ran a three-part programme called Lost Land of the Jaguar which highlighted the huge diversity of wildlife, including undiscovered species and rare species such as the giant otter and harpy eagle in Guyana.

More than 80% of Guyana is still covered by forests, ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rain forests. These forests are home to more than a thousand species of trees. Guyana's tropical climate, unique geology, and relatively pristine ecosystems support extensive areas of species-rich rain forests and natural habitats with high levels of endemism. Approximately eight thousand species of plants occur in Guyana, half of which are found nowhere else.

Guyana has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Guyana, with 1,168 vertebrate species, 814 bird species, boasts one of the richest mammalian fauna assemblages of any comparably sized area in the world.

Giant otter

Emerald tree boa

Jaguar

Traveling by river

House in the interior

On land, large mammals, such as jaguars, tapirs, bush dogs, giant anteaters, and saki monkeys are still common. Over 400 species of birds have been reported from just one region, and the reptile and amphibian faunas are similarly rich. 

Kaiteur Falls is in the Kaiteur national park in Guyana on the Potaro river and is said to be the largest single drop waterfall in the world. The drop is 741 feet, four times taller than Niagara falls.

We will keep adding to this information page as we get time.