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Guyana SOCIETY
Population: Estimated at 764,000 in 1990. Rate of annual
growth estimated at 1.9 percent in 1990s.
Ethnic Groups: In the 1980s, 51 percent of the population
Indo-Guyanese (descended from immigrants from India), 42 percent
Afro-Guyanese (of African or partial African descent), 4 percent
Amerindian (descended from indigenous population), and less than 3
percent European or Chinese.
Language: English official language and spoken by almost
all Guyanese. Some Amerindian languages spoken, as well as
Portuguese near Brazilian border.
Religion: In 1990 about 52 percent of population
Christian, 34 percent Hindu, and 9 percent Muslim. Christians
primarily Afro-Guyanese; Hindus and Muslims primarily IndoGuyanese . Two-thirds of Christians Protestant, one-third Roman
Catholic.
Education and Literacy: Approximately 96 percent of adult
population considered literate in the 1990s. Public education
system included two years of preschool, six years of basic
education (compulsory), five years of secondary education, four
years of university education, and several masters degree programs.
One university--University of Guyana.
Health: Malnutrition increased in 1980s. Malaria most
serious disease. Medical facilities and potable water inadequate,
especially in rural areas. In 1988 infant mortality rate 43.9 per
1,000 live births; life expectancy sixty-six years.
Data as of January 1992
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