Guyana

The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country’s GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Guyana’s entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country’s export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Economic recovery since a 2005 flood-related contraction was buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana’s principal donor, canceled Guyana’s nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth slowed in 2009-10 as a result of the world recession. The slowdown in the domestic economy and lower import costs helped to narrow the country’s current account deficit, despite generally lower earnings from exports.

$5.069 billion (2010 est.)

$4.946 billion (2009 est.)

$4.834 billion (2008 est.)

$2.197 billion (2010 est.)

2.5% (2010 est.)

2.3% (2009 est.)

3% (2008 est.)

$6,800 (2010 est.)

$6,600 (2009 est.)

$6,400 (2008 est.)

333,900 (2007 est.)

11% (2007)

NA%

43.2 (1999)

34.1% of GDP (2010 est.)

57% of GDP (2010 est.)

6.8% (2010 est.)

2.9% (2009 est.)

6.75% (31 December 2009)

6.75% (31 December 2008)

14.54% (31 December 2009 est.)

14.58% (31 December 2008 est.)

$386.9 million (31 December 2010 est)

$252.9 million (31 December 2009 est)

$1.303 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$905.6 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$754 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$524 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA (31 December 2009)

$289.9 million (31 December 2008)

$262.4 million (31 December 2007)

sugarcane, rice, edible oils; shrimp, fish, beef, pork, poultry

bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining

2.5% (2010 est.)

821 million kWh (2007 est.)

667 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

10,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

10,550 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

-$311 million (2010 est.)

-$265 million (2009 est.)

$814 million (2010 est.)

$763 million (2009 est.)

sugar, gold, bauxite, alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber

Canada 27.52%, US 16.93%, UK 10.84%, Ukraine 5.54%, Netherlands 5%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.33%, Jamaica 4.12% (2009)

$1.366 billion (2010 est.)

$1.161 billion (2009 est.)

manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food

US 25.23%, Trinidad and Tobago 23.23%, Cuba 6.41%, China 6.05% (2009)

$506 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$631.4 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$804.3 million (30 September 2008)

$1.2 billion (2002)

Guyanese dollars (GYD) per US dollar - 204.07 (2010), 204.02 (2009), 203.86 (2008), 201.89 (2007), 200.28 (2006)