Amtliche Kurzform: Guyana
Name in Landessprache:   
Kurzform: Guyana  
Vollform: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Die Herkunft des Landesnamen ist ungeklärt. Es wird vermutet daß er auf den Indianerstamm Guainazes zurückgeht; das Wort bedeutet "ehrenwerte Leute".
Name in Englisch: Guyana
Ehemaliger Name: Britisch-Guayana

Staatsgebiet: Guyana grenzt an Brasilien, Venezuela und Suriname sowie an den Atlantik.
 

CIA Background-Info Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006.