Demographics of Guyana

This article is about the demographic features of Guyana, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1831	98,000	—
1911	296,041	+202.1%
1931	310,933	+5.0%
1946	375,701	+20.8%
1960	560,330	+49.1%
1970	701,718	+25.2%
1980	759,567	+8.2%
1991	723,673	−4.7%
2002	751,223	+3.8%
2012	746,955	−0.6%
2015	741,962	−0.7%
Source: [1]

Guyana's population (Guyanese people) is made up of six main ethnic groups: Amerindians, Africans, Indians, Europeans, Portuguese and Chinese. Ninety percent of the inhabitants live on the narrow coastal plain, where population density is more than 115 inhabitants per square kilometre (300/sq mi). The population density for Guyana as a whole is low: less than four inhabitants per square kilometre (10.4/sq mi).

Guyana continues to be influenced by British culture, as well as the cultures of the United States, Europe, Africa, the Islamic world, East and South Asian countries, and Latin America, esp. neighboring countries of Venezuela and Brazil. It is one of three countries and two territories to form The Guianas, such as Suriname and the island of Trinidad and Tobago; and territories like the French Guiana and parts of neighboring countries named for Guayana (Venezuela) and Amapa of Brazil.

Population

According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3], the total population was 779,006 in 2018. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 33.6%, 62.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.3% was 65 years or older.[4]

	Total population (x 1000)	Proportion aged 0–14 (%)	Proportion aged 15–64 (%)	Proportion aged 65+ (%)
1950	407	39.9	56.0	4.1
1955	483	43.6	52.8	3.6
1960	560	46.3	50.4	3.3
1965	640	47.7	49.0	3.4
1970	721	48.7	47.9	3.4
1975	749	45.5	50.9	3.6
1980	777	42.5	53.7	3.8
1985	752	38.6	57.0	4.4
1990	725	34.4	60.6	5.0
1995	728	34.6	60.4	5.0
2000	733	35.5	60.0	4.5
2005	746	36.9	59.3	3.8
2010	754	33.6	62.1	4.3

Structure of the population[5]

Structure of the population (01.07.2010) (Estimates – unrevised data)

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	393,059	391,835	784,894	100
0–4	34,029	33,673	67,701	8.63
5–9	32,778	32,423	65,201	8.31
10–14	39,978	37,943	77,921	9.93
15–19	43,487	41,518	85,004	10.83
20–24	34,877	34,545	69,423	8.84
25–29	26,816	28,694	55,510	7.07
30–34	27,189	27,635	54,824	6.98
35–39	27,764	25,690	53,454	6.81
40–44	27,112	25,322	52,434	6.68
45–49	25,775	24,914	50,689	6.46
50–54	22,163	23,275	45,438	5.59
55–59	17,672	17,488	35,160	4.48
60–64	13,995	13,878	27,873	3.55
65–69	7,988	9,467	17,455	2.22
70–74	5,440	7,012	12,451	1.59
75–79	3,529	4,585	8,114	1.03
80+	2,469	3,773	6,242	0.80

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	106,785	104,039	210,824	26.86
15–64	266,848	262,959	529,807	67.50
65+	19,426	24,837	44,263	5.64

Age structure

0–14 years: 35.6% (male 135,629; female 131,518; total 267,146)
15–64 years: 60.2% (male 226,058; female 226,551; total 452,609)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 14,347; female 17,120; total 31,467) (2002 census)[6][7]

Vital statistics

The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates of vital statistics of Guyana. [4]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy total	Life expectancy males	Life expectancy females
1950–1955	20,000	8,000	12,000	49.4	18.1	31.4	6.68	118	49.2	46.5	52.0
1955–1960	23,000	8,000	15,000	47.5	15.8	31.7	6.77	107	51.7	49.4	54.1
1960–1965	25,000	8,000	17,000	41.5	13.6	27.9	6.15	98	53.7	51.8	55.6
1965–1970	27,000	8,000	19,000	40.0	12.5	27.5	6.11	92	55.1	53.8	56.4
1970–1975	25,000	7,000	18,000	34.1	11.0	23.2	4.90	83	57.2	55.9	58.6
1975–1980	24,000	7,000	17,000	31.1	10.0	21.0	3.94	77	58.8	57.4	60.3
1980–1985	23,000	7,000	16,000	28.7	9.6	19.1	3.26	73	60.0	57.9	62.5
1985–1990	19,000	7,000	12,000	26.4	9.8	16.6	2.70	68	60.6	57.9	63.8
1990–1995	19,000	7,000	12,000	23.5	9.8	13.7	2.55	63	61.4	58.5	64.9
1995–2000	18,000	7,000	11,000	22.0	8.9	13.0	2.50	56	63.1	60.1	66.6
2000–2005	16,000	7,000	9,000	20.1	7.6	12.5	2.43	49	65.7	62.7	69.1
2005–2010	14,000	6,000	8,000	18.8	5.9	12.9	2.33	42	68.7	65.5	71.9
*CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Vital statistics

[8]

	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate
2005	758 183	14 860	5 230	9 630	19.6	6.9	12.7		22.0
2006	760 689	14 830	5 020	9 810	19.5	6.6	12.9		19.2
2007	763 203	14 500	5 040	9 460	19.0	6.6	12.4		20.3
2008	766 183	15 240	4 980	10 260	19.9	6.5	13.4		17.5
2009	753 200	14 461	5 270	9 191	19.2	7.0	12.2		10.8
2010	752 100	14 290	5 260	9 030	19.0	7.0	12.0		14.7
2011	750 700	14 110	5 180	8 930	18.8	6.9	11.9		14.4
2012	748 900	13 780	5 160	8 620	18.4	6.9	11.5		13.8
2013	746 900	13 820	4 930	8 890	18.5	6.6	11.9	2.6	12.9
2014	747 559	14 800	5 460	9 340	19.8	7.3	12.5		23.3
2015	741 962	13 060	5 050	8 010	17.6	6.8	10.8		21.8

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[9]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
2005	21.3	2.6	20.3	2.4	21.7	2.8
2009	23	2,8 (2,1)	17	2,1 (1,7)	24	3,0 (2,3)

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups of Guyana (2012 Census)
Ethnic groups			percent
Indian			39.83%
Black			29.25%
Mixed			19.88%
Amerindian			10.51%
Other (includes Chinese, European)			0.5%

The present population of Guyana is racially and ethnically heterogeneous, with ethnic groups originating from India, Africa, Europe, and China, as well as indigenous or aboriginal peoples.

The largest ethnic group are the Indo-Guyanese, the descendants of indentured laborers from India, who make up 39.8% of the population, according to the 2012 census.[10] They are followed by the Afro-Guyanese, the descendants of enslaved laborers from Africa, who constitute 29.3. Guyanese of mixed heritage make up 19.9% while the indigenous peoples (known locally as Amerindians) make up 10.5% The indigenous groups include the Arawaks, the Wai Wai, the Caribs, the Akawaio, the Arecuna, the Patamona, the Wapixana, the Macushi and the Warao.[11] The two largest groups, the Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese, have experienced some racial tension.[12][13][14][15]

Most Indo-Guyanese are descended from Bhojpuri-speaking Bihari, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengali migrants.[16] Many Indo-Guyanese are also Tamil-speaking Tamils from Tamil Nadu, and Telugus of Andhra Pradesh in South India.[17]

The distribution pattern in the 2002 census was similar to those of the 1980 and 1991 censuses, but the share of the two main groups has declined. Indo-Guyanese made up 51.9% of the total population in 1980, but by 1991 this had fallen to 48.6%, and then to 43.5% in the 2002 census. Those of African descent increased slightly from 30.8% to 32.3% during the first period (1980 and 1991) before falling to 30.2% in the 2002 census. With small growth in the overall population, the decline in the shares of the two larger groups has resulted in the relative increase of shares of the multiracial and Amerindian groups. The Amerindian population rose by 22,097 people between 1991 and 2002. This represents an increase of 47.3% or annual growth of 3.5%. Similarly, the multiracial population increased by 37,788 persons, representing a 43.0% increase or annual growth rate of 3.2% from the base period of 1991 census.

The number of Chinese and White population (mostly consisting of Portuguese) is about 0.5%.[18][19]

Population of Guyana according to ethnic group[20][21][22]

Ethnic group	Census 1946		Census 1960		Census 1980		Census 1991		Census 2002		Census 2012
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Indian	163,434	43.5	267,840	47.8	394,417	51.9	351,939	48.6	326,277	43.4	297,493	39.8
Black	143,385	38.2	183,980	32.8	234,094	30.8	233,465	32.3	227,062	30.2	218,483	29.3
Mixed	37,685	10.0	67,189	12.0	84,764	11.2	87,881	12.1	125,727	16.7	148,532	19.9
Amerindian	16,322	4.3	25.450	4.5	40,343	5.3	46,722	6.5	68,675	9.1	78,492	10.5
White	8,543	2.3	3,218	0.6	3,790	0.5	2,267	0.3	1,974	0.3	2,325	0.3
Chinese	3,567	0.9	4,074	0.7	1,864	0.2	1,290	0.2	1,396	0.2	1,377	0.2
Other	2,765	0.7	8,655	1.5	294	0.0	107	0.0	112	0.0	253	0.0
Total	375,701		560,406		759,566		723,671		751,223		746,955

Language

Main article: Languages of Guyana

English is the official language of Guyana, which is the only South American country with English as the official language.[23][24]

Guyanese Creole (an English-based creole with African and/or East Indian syntax) is widely spoken in Guyana.[23]

A number of Amerindian languages are also spoken by a minority of the population. These include Cariban languages such as Macushi, Akawaio and Wai-Wai; Arawakan languages such as Arawak (or Lokono) and Wapishana.[23][24]

Other languages spoken include Chinese, Guyanese Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) and Tamil.[23][24]

Second and third languages

Portuguese is increasingly widely used as a second language in Guyana, particularly in the south of the country, bordering on Brazil.[23] Dutch and French are spoken by those who frequently visit neighboring French Guiana and Suriname. French is widely taught in secondary schools along with Spanish as foreign languages. Spanish is also used by a minority of the population as a second language. Spanish is spoken typically by visitors and residents from Venezuela.[25]

Religion

See also: Religion in Guyana

Religion in Guyana (2012 census)[26]

  Pentecostal (22.8%)

  Seventh-day Adventist (5.4%)

  Anglican (5.2%)

  Methodist (1.4%)

  Jehovah's Witnesses (1.3%)

  Roman Catholic (7.1%)

  Other Christians[lower-alpha 1] (20.8%)

  Hindu (24.8%)

  Muslim (6.8%)

  Other (2.6%)

  Irreligious (3.1%)

Notes

1. Mostly made up of other Protestants, but also Eastern Orthodox, Mormons, and other Christians.

References

1. "Final 2012 Census Compendium". Bureau of Statistics - Guyana. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
2. ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
3. ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
4. "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
5. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
6. Guyana Census 2002, population composition, Ch. 2 (p. 44)
7. Total population 751,223, where 15–64 years is 452,609/751,223 ~= 60.2%.
8. "DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE: GUYANA" (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
9. "Guyana - Demographic and Health Survey 2009". microdata.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
10. https://statisticsguyana.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final_2012_Census_Compendium2.pdf
11. https://statisticsguyana.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final_2012_Census_Compendium2.pdf
12. "Guyana turns attention to racism". BBC News. 20 September 2005.
13. "Conflict between East-Indian and Blacks in Trinidad and Guyana Socially, Economically and Politically". Gabrielle Hookumchand, Professor Moses Seenarine. 18 May 2000.
14. International Business Times: "Guyana: A Study in Polarized Racial Politics" Archived 15 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine 12 December 2011
15. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/26/ethnic-conflict-democracy-guyana/
16. Helen Myers (1999). Music of Hindu Trinidad. University of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780226554532.
17. Indian Diaspora (PDF). Indiandiaspora.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
18. "South America :: GUYANA". Cia.gov. CIA The World Factbook. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
19. "Portuguese emigration from Madeira to British Guiana". Guyana.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
20. "2012 Census Compendium 2". Statisticsguyana.gov.gy. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
21. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
22. Guyana Census 2002, population composition, Ch. 2 (pp. 27–28)
23. Smock, Kirk (2008). Guyana: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt. pp. 19. ISBN 978 1 84162 223 1.
24. Ali, Arif (2008). Guyana. London: Hansib. ISBN 978-1-906190-10-1.
25. Damoiseau, Robert (2003) Eléments de grammaire comparée français-créole guyanais Ibis rouge, Guyana, ISBN 2-84450-192-3
26. Guyana 2012 census compendium 2. Retrieved 28 August 2019.

External links

• CIA World Factbook – Guyana