Guyana: Economic Outline

Economic Indicators

The People's Progressive Party (PPP) won the elections in November 2011 but lost its majority at the Parliament which is not going to facilitate the political evolution. However, the Republic of Guyana will be protected from an economic slowdown and political instability thanks to the current investment projects and the improvement in its agricultural sector. Its growth rate in 2012 should be about 4.8%.

Guyana's economy depends mainly on its agriculture and mining resources. The agricultural sector accounts for more than one-fourth of the GDP and the exports of sugar, bauxite, timber, gold and rice are the main sources of the country's income. The transfers from the Guyanese diaspora represent substantial amounts which play an important role in the country's economy and the purchasing power of its local population.

Poor quality infrastructures and the lack of skilled workforce are the main barriers that the country has to improve. Consequently, the country has a foreign debt and depends strongly on foreign aid. In the social plan, Guyana's income per capita is around USD 1,300.

Main Indicators	2009	2010	2011	2012 (e)	2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD)	2.02	2.26	2.48	2.74	2.97
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change)	3.3	4.4	5.3e	6.0	5.5
GDP per Capita (USD)	2,629e	2,923e	3,202	3,529	3,811
General Government Balance (in % of GDP)	-5.3	-4.3	-5.2e	-5.8	-4.8
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP)	61.2	60.2	60.4	59.3	59.7
Inflation Rate (%)	3.0	3.7e	5.8e	5.8	5.8
Current Account (billions USD)	-0.19	-0.21	-0.32	-0.66	-0.66
Current Account (in % of GDP)	-9.2e	-9.3e	-12.9	-22.3	-

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database - Last Available Data.

Note: (e) Estimated Data

Monetary Indicators	2008	2009	2010
Foreign Debt (million USD)	829	1,036	-
Guyana Dollar (GYD) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD	203.63	203.95	203.64

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency convertor.

Main Sectors of Industry

Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment)	21.4	24.5	50.3
Value Added (in % of GDP)	18.9	35.5	45.6
Value Added (Annual % Change)	5.5	3.4	4.4

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Learn more about Market Analyses about Guyana on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:: 49.4/100
Position:: Controlled
World Rank:: 145/179
Regional Rank:: 23/26

Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation

Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

Country Risk

See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:: Free
Political Freedom:: 2/7
Civil Liberties:: 3/7

Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House

Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:: 60/179
Evolution:: 1 place down compared to 2010

Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

Sources of General Economic Information

Main Online Newspapers and Portals: Guyana Information Portal
Guyana Newspapers
Guyana News
BBC Country Profile, Guyana

Useful Resources: Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Tourism, Industry & Commerce
National Bank

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